Missing Link: Maha Kumbh – the Huge Religious Gathering has to be a Tech Demo

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Note: Eine deutsche Variante dieses Artikels ist ebenfalls verfügbar.

As millions are gathering in January and February on the banks of holy rivers in North India, an ocean of humanity bathes in a once-in-144-years universe of positive energy – accompanied with under-water drones, AI-Assistants, digital surveillance, location intelligence, aerial drones, bots and digital local commerce. More than 400 million participants are expected. It is tough to ensure everything goes smoothly with such a big crowd. Especially when a serious stampede is just one river bank away. Does the technology do its job?

The significance and scale of the Maha Kumbh festival is not easy to grasp. From a distance, it is a massive, huge, gigantic Hindu festival. But it is also a temporary city. And this year, it was supposed to be a celebration of technology that would ensure the safety of all. Still, 30 pilgrims died in a mass panic, scores more have been wounded.

"Missing Link"

What's missing: In the fast-paced world of technology, we often don't have time to sort through all the news and background information. At the weekend, we want to take this time to follow the side paths away from the current affairs, try out other perspectives and make nuances audible.

• All our the "Missing Links"

Kumbh means pot or pitcher. Here, a particular Kumbh is revered as a celestial vessel that emerged with the churning of the cosmic ocean and, as per religious beliefs, was being carried by deities when the amrit (nectar) from inside the vessel fell on certain holy spots across India. These became the four Tirthas (holy destinations) of Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain. There, a Kumbh Mela (gathering) is celebrated every three years, held at each Tirtha every turn. At a confluence of three holy rivers in Prayagraj, North India, a special Maha-tirtha takles place every twelve years.

This year, 2025, the 45-day Maha Kumbh is super extra very exclusive: This Kumbh happens once only every 144 years, coinciding with a rare alignment of the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. Some 400 Million people will travel to the confluence spot for holy ablutions and other religious activities during the six and a half weeks leading up to February 26.

Steve Jobs' Dream Turns Nightmare

Do 400 million humans congregate here? Or do they aggregate? The answer, strangely, can be traced back to a hand-written letter by Steve Jobs that was recently auctioned off for over half a a million US Dollars. That stirred up headlines, just as the Maha Kumbh began. In his wish-list of sorts, 19-year young Jobs expressed his plans to visit the Kumbh Mela in India.

But something else stirred up headlines about this mega-confluence a few weeks after it began flowing smoothly and seamlessly: The Mela was celebrating another auspicious day of the bath on January 29^th when dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede as they rushed to and from certain bathing areas. This day was of select significance (due to a celestial arrangement called Mauni Amavasya) and explains why 100 million people were expected to galvanise here for holy ablutions. According to some reports, about 75 million people came, of which 57 million had taken a holy dip by 4 p.m. But some suffered the stampede tragedy when barricades were broken, compounded by the closure of some routes and confusion on exit and entry aspects.

Back to Steve Jobs for a minute now, to recall how he signed off his letter to his childhood friend with the word Shanti, meaning Peace. That is exactly what millions come for during such huge confluences. And it is a word that can easily be disrupted by a small push or moment of human panic. Reminding us again why well-planned and tech-armed arrangements are not just a footnote, but the essence of such huge-scale human oceans. The Maha Kumbh Festival, incidentally, has come up as a template of why technology matters.

Jobs' wish to attend is relatable. The Maha Kumbh is a rare case-study of a crowd packed with diversity, orchestrated smoothly with faith. There are devotees, pilgrims, curious-eyed Gen Zs, saints, visitors, and scholars coalescing from all over the world. An extraordinary array of ascetics beckons from remote hideaways in forests, mountains and caves. Untold thousands take the ritual bath in the holy water every day. What they, like Jobs, perhaps, are looking for, is peace. Smooth order, a well-oiled organization, and fluidity, as millions of people cross each other's paths, without sharp elbows.

How can that be pulled off? Because Kumbh is not just about a dip, as Dr. Saroj Sharma, an expert on Indian heritage and spiritual wellness underlines. "It's like being among thousands of spiritual bulbs illuminated at the same time and at the same place. People (of myriad cultures, states, languages, faiths, countries, and ages) come to Kumbh" It is imperative to keep it positive. And peaceful.

What's the 'Maha' (huge) in 'Kumbh'?

Every twelve years, a metropolis rises on a river-shore in India, for 45 days only.It is a mammoth pop-up city, built with tents, pontoons, cottages, bamboo structures, etc. But it gets dismantled once the 'Mela' (festival/gathering) is over: That is because Prayagraj Kumbh signifies the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers. This joining of three holy rivers has an exceptionally sacred significance for millions of worshippers. A permanent city would disturb the place.

So millions and millions flock to this make-shift city sprawled across many square kilometres of land for their 'holy dips'. The scale is mind boggling: 160,000 tents, a 400 km temporary road network, 30 pontoon bridges, a 1,250-km-long water supply pipeline, many well-punctuated water-vending machines, power sub-stations, hundreds of km-long transmission cables, thousands of streetlights, about 3,000 CCTV cameras for surveillance and counting.

The traffic plan takes special care to minimise congestion while facilitating access, with more room for e-rickshaws and three wheelers powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). Many new pontoon bridges and additional roads have been constructed to facilitate smoother transportation in comparison to 2019, plus over 102 parking zones, spanning approximately 1,900 hectares, have been developed across Prayagraj and neighbouring districts, with a capacity to accommodate up to 550,000 vehicles. Kumbh is not just a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (anointed in 2017), but an economic and cultural epicentre of huge proportions, too.

Note that the previous Mela, in 2013, generated employment for over 600,000 people and revenue of more than 1,5 billion Euro. (120 billion Rupees at then exchange rates). Also, the religious mass festival generated about 55,000 new jobs in the unorganised sector (read tour guides, taxi drivers, interpreters, volunteers, etc.). The 2025 Kumbh is already looking at an estimated revenue generation of some 2,8 billion Euro (250 billion Rupees). Right on day one, January 13,over 16.5 million devotees gathered at the Sangam for a holy dip during Paush Purnima (a holy date for this bath). You can sense how huge it is! And the numbers will keep adding up, until the final day of February 26.