If you thought the Ardh Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj was all about holy baths, sadhus and religious fervour, think again. From Instagram-friendly photos to tailor-made luxury glamping packages, the esoteric religious gathering has also become quite a trend with millennials, it turns out.
About 40 per cent of the many packages offered by travel agencies for the Kumbh Mela were snapped up by working millennials from big Indian cities, according to statistics. And why not? Gone are the days when the Kumbh was a conclave of sadhus and the ardent believers, congregating in the bitter cold and bare-thread facilities available at the bathing ghats along the banks of the Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers) and plunging into the icy cold waters with only their faith to fortify them.
Circa 2019, spurred by the vivid images of the Kumbh on their social media feed, millennials, both Indian and foreign, have been clicking on their smartphones to pick ‘short haul spiritual holiday package’ of their choice, ranging from budget tents—as much as 4,000 of them—to star-rated luxury glamping with exclusive viewing terraces.
Many travel agencies offered short, affordable packages suitable for all budget categories, fitting schedules of working youngsters in cities (one to four nights) and offering all urban comforts. The result? Many young urban Indians flew in straight into Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) on one of the many special flights by Air India (or the AC coaches of the many additional trains on the Northern Railway network) to enjoy the spectacle the way they want.
And that’s not all. Thanks to the arrangements made by the UP government, (the budget this time was the highest ever, at Rs 4,200 crore) ranging from upgradation of airports, railway stations, several new stretches of roads and security, city slickers have found this year’s Kumbh quite a comfortable and exotic experience. As many as40,000 LED lights were put up to light up the mela areas and 1.2 lakh toilets were set up—just to give couple of mind-boggling figures.
In a first, adventure sports like parasailing, paramotoring, wall climbing, ball zorbing on land or the Yamuna river, as well as hot air balloons were introduced at the mela grounds. Reports say this proved to be a big hit, and not just with the millennials.
Take for example, the luxury tents put up by the The Ultimate Travelling Camp (TUTC), a private ‘glamping’ (glamorous camping) service provider. Its 17 luxury and 27 super luxury tents on a hillock overlooking the Sangam featured amenities normally found in a five-star hotel rather than a religious dipping ground in the cow belt, from running hot water and western-style toilets to specially curated 'satvik' menus and exclusive ‘viewing terraces’ where guests could watch the sea of devotees perform their rituals without leaving the comforts of the luxury camp. TUTC’s super notch facilities come at a price—above Rs 36,000 per person for a three nights package.
“We (saw) heavy demand from International travellers for dates around the important bathing dates (shahi snans),” says Dhun Cordo, co-founder of TUTC. “February has been a busy month and (we expect to) see more tourists visiting. Our occupancy ranges between 80 to 85 per cent. It is a mix of Indian and foreign tourists in the range of 50:50.”
If the Kumbh was spiritual and religious till now, the latest version has made it ‘exotic’ and even ‘cool’, thanks to the many new attractions making it a hot spot for urban millennials. A statement by travel service provider Thomas Cook, which says it received hundreds of requests from customers for packages to the Kumbh, calls this a ‘significant change in pattern of travellers.” A different segment of visitors has been looking forward to explore this spiritual tourism coupled with experiencing high-octane adventure sports at the mela, bringing a new twist to the fervour,” it says.
