For the ritualistic bath in the Ganges is considered morally and physically invigorating, cleansing the accumulated evils of the previous 12 years and setting one off on a journey of new beginnings.

Maha Kumbh 2010 is attracting huge crowds. Beginning on Makar Sankranti, a holy day in the Hindu calendar on January 14, it will last through till the end of April. Inter­spersed in that three-month period are 10 ritualistic shahi snans (royal baths) on celestially significant days when the numbers at the Maha Kumbh can run to several million.

To those unfamiliar with the mythology, the Maha Kumbh is considered as old as the human race itself.

It is believed that gods and asuras (devils) fought a pitched battle for the Kumbh (pot) of nectar that would guarantee immortality.

Just when the nectar seemed to be in their grasp, a pot of poison emerged, threatening to vitiate the entire universe. At this, Lord Shiva swallowed the vish (poison).

And, finally, when the Kumbh containing the elixir of immortality appeared in the hands of a divine healer, in the pitched battle for its possession between gods and asuras, a few drops fell in four different places.

Maha Kumbh is celebrated every 12 years in each of these four places as per the planetary configurations. Waters of rivers near these four different towns are said to turn into the holy nectar, making a dip in them on the auspicious occasion a soul-uplifting experience.

In other words, there is a Maha Kumbh every three years, but it is the one in Haridwar that has come to be considered the biggest and most auspicious in the religious calendar.

Quite clearly, behind the religious mythology lies a metaphor pointing to the constant struggle between good and evil, and how eventually good triumphs over evil.

The mythical nectar of immortality could well represent the fruit of success and victory for anyone who does not yield to temptations of moral and legal shortcuts in his quest for personal progress.

Churning of the ocean for the nectar of immortality was symbolic of the constant struggle of man to triumph over his base instincts to attain higher knowledge and wisdom.

Over time, the Maha Kumbh has come to attract not just Hindu devotees but even those professing other faiths as well as non-believers.

The very size of the congregation with the sights and sounds of Haridwar (literally, the doorstep to God, where drops of the elixir of immortality fell), the display of devotion and piety, the presence of tens of thousands of naga sadhus (ascetic, practitioner of yoga (yogi) and/or wandering monks) - it is quite an experience.

Men and women, young and old, drawn from almost all social and economic strata, mingle on the banks of the holy Ganges river in one collective act of piety. All barriers of class and caste come down here when millions take the holy dip in the early morning hours seeking benediction from the holiest of holy rivers as per the Hindu mythology.

The economy of the small town of Haridwar revolves around religion. Traditionally, the Ganges on the banks of the town is the favourite place for Hindus to immerse the ashes of their near and dear ones.

The Brahmin priests who perform these ritualistic ceremonies maintain genealogical records of families from various parts of the country, and can surprise one by reeling off names of one’s forefathers going back to six or seven generations.

But the Maha Kumbh is an altogether different experience. Bathed in a wave of religious devotion and piety, the entire town comes alive with the congregation of several million pilgrims with the sole objective of partaking in the waters of the holy river at the auspicious time as per the planetary position.

As the sun sets, there are a million diyas (lights in earthen pots) lit, aartis (prayers through the singing of hymns) performed in various temples as well as homes and guest houses all along the river bank, and tiny floral floats released in the waters.

Some find in the sights an organised chaos, others see it as a collective display of devotion and piety, an affirmation of common heritage and belief.

Indeed, the Maha Kumbh poses a huge organisational challenge to the authorities.

There are tens of thousands of policemen, regulating the crush of humanity, dispersing it all over the banks of the river, barricading Har ki Paudi (god’s own bathing platform, a mere 150m stretch on the bank of the Ganges considered the holiest of holy places in Haridwar) in order to prevent a stampede, and generally maintaining a semblance of order to prevent a human tragedy.

Stampede deaths, incidentally, are common during Maha Kumbhs. At the start of the current Kumbh on January 14, at least 10 people were crushed to death under the feet of fellow devotees while scores of others were injured.

On a personal note, the grandfather of this columnist’s husband was trapped in a stampede in the 1938 Maha Kumbh Mela, barely managing to survive as several people walked over him as he lay unconscious on the ground. Fortunately, he was rushed to a temporary hospital where he was given medical aid.

Things have not changed much since those early Maha Kumbhs of the last century. Everyone wants to have the first dip in the holy waters and everyone wants it at the same place.