Fuelled by FOMO, GEN Z takes the SM route to Maha Kumbh
Social media savvy youngsters are heading to Prayagraj to figure out for themselves what the hype created around Maha Kumbh is all about.
Rajib Kumar is witnessing the once-in-a-lifetime Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj up close. The only difference is that the 20-year-old is doing it through the lens of his cell phone’s camera. He takes FOMO breaks from the feverish frenzy of clicking pictures only to scroll through other social media handles that are covering the nuances of the colours, communion and charisma of the mela.
Kumar has travelled 450-odd kilometres from his hometown Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh to see for himself what the incessant chatter on social media is all about.
Gen Z mesmerised
A typical day at the mela for Kumar entails walking the grounds, covering a good three to four kilometres to capture the visuals of Naga sadhus smeared in ash, looking mystical and resplendent in their dreadlocks grazing the ground, all to stand out among the school of social media (SM) creatures out to show the mela sights in a new, fresh light.
Also read: All you need to know about mammoth Maha Kumbh mela
“I’ve heard of some sects of sadhus feasting on the dead and wearing their hair in long, messy dreadlocks. I’ve come to see it all and click the best pictures to upload on my socials. I’m thrilled that this self-funded trip of mine has been successful,” says Kumar, all the while staying focussed on clicking away on his phone.
The Maha Kumbh, the biggest spiritual gathering of Hindus on the planet, is attracting a lot of youth, especially Generation Z. They are witnessing such a large-scale event for the first time and are simply awestruck by its magnitude.
Having travelled 900 kms from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, with his parents to attend the Maha Kumbh, Sujit Yadav, 23, is awestruck by it all. “I’ve never seen such a massive gathering of devotees ever before in my life. It is beyond my imagination. I don’t think I will ever forget the sights of these ash-smeared sadhus walking past me. I want to capture every moment on my camera,” says a visibly excited Yadav.
Maha Kumbh – a dip of spirituality
According to Hindu scriptures, the Maha Kumbh is held every 12 years to celebrate the event when drops of elixir (amrita), the nectar of immortality, fell on the earth at four places – Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra), while devtas or gods were protecting the pot (or kumbh) of nectar from the asuras or demons.
It is said that the devtas ran for 12 days carrying the pot of nectar. Since the ancient texts say that one day in the life of devtas is equal to one year in humankind, the Purna Kumbh is celebrated every 12 years in these four holy cities. This Maha kumbh is one-of-its-kind because it has come after 12 purna Kumbhs or 144 years.
The festival, in 2025, is being held on the banks of the river sangam (confluence) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The Sangam or the Triveni Sangam is a confluence of three holy rivers, the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Saraswati. Around 40 crore pilgrims are expected to take a holy dip in the river, as a dip in the Triveni Sangam during the Maha Kumbh is believed to facilitate moksha or liberation for humans.
The Maha Kumbh ground is spread across 4,000 acres along the river plains where arrangements have been made for the devotees attending the mela.
Also read: Must-see rural festivals in January
Treat for social media
Girish Vasudev Kulkarni is the founder of Temple Connect, a company that provides information about Hindu temples to global pilgrims.
In 2013, when the last Purna Kumbh took place, social media was at a nascent stage. This Maha Kumbh is the first mega-religious event since the social media explosion.
In 2013, when the last Purna Kumbh took place, social media was at a nascent stage. This Maha Kumbh is the first mega-religious event since the social media explosion.
Back then, people hardly knew about platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and TV and newspapers were the major carriers of information. But the past few years has witnessed a massive explosion of social media aided by pocket-friendly internet packages. Better transport connectivity is also another factor for drawing major crowds to the Maha Kumbh,” he further adds.
“Gen Z considers it the perfect opportunity to get ample content for their social handles. That in turn has made the festival more popular even in the remotest areas of the country,” says Kulkarni.
43-year-old Sujay Verma, a software engineer from Kolkata, reached Maha Kumbh on the insistence of his 10-year-old daughter who came to know of the mega event through YouTube.
“She wants to see the sadhus and take a dip in the holy river. I’m happy that she is moving toward spirituality at such a tender age, thanks to social media where she witnessed the richness of our culture,” says Verma.
“When I was a kid, there was no hype about the Kumbh – there were hardly any big ads in newspapers. Social media was an alien concept back then,” recalls Verma.
Massive hike of devotees
The consecration of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya last year, followed by the Maha Kumbh this year has certainly played a key role in shifting the interest of Gen Z towards spirituality.
“The number of people visiting spiritual places has increased tenfold post-pandemic. The realisation that life cannot be taken for granted has sunk into peoples’ minds. I’ve been associated with ISKCON for the past 30 years but have never witnessed such massive crowds,” points out Gauranga Das, Governing Body Commissioner, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
“Goa used to be one of the favoured destinations for New Year’s eve. Now we’re seeing a barrage of devotees swarming temples on such occasions. Online content about temples seems to have turned a spiritual leaf in them,” explains Das.
“Over one lakh devotees visited the Govardhan eco-village, a spiritual wellness retreat at Palghar in Maharashtra, in 2022,” says Das, “While the number swelled to 2.5 lakh in 2023, it quadrupled to 10 lakh in 2024,” he adds, indicating that the numbers reflect more people turning spiritual.
Also read: Dance to the beats of dollu at this Karnataka festival
50-year-old Katy Boewer, an Irish who has been based in Delhi for the last seven years is visiting the Maha Kumbh with her teenage daughter Izzy. “I’m really happy with the hospitality I received here. People are nice and helpful, and the festival is a perfect opportunity to show the world the importance of divinity in our lives. I believe that this event will make me more spiritual and kind,” says Boewer.
As the evening dusk envelops the sky, the confluence of the two worlds becomes even more stark. As thousands take the holy dip in the Sangam, the skyline twinkles with hundreds of flashes from camera phones.
The lead image on top depicts bathers during the Kumbh mela. A once-in-144-year event, the mela has attracted younger people like never before. (Photo courtesy https://kumbh.gov.in )
Gurvinder Singh is a journalist based in Kolkata.
