Why these Mumbaikars are visiting Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 like never before

lsquoTeaching yoga at Mahakumbh is the highlight for usrsquoKhyati Shah yoga instructor 26Khyati Shah a yoga instructor from Vile Parle found herself at a crossroads when she was faced with a choice between hosting her usual yoga retreat in Lonavala or joining her friends on a trip of a lifetime to the Mahakumbh Her WhatsApp group of yoga enthusiasts was buzzing with messages and plans being made backtobackShah couldnrsquot resist the calling She cancelled her retreat bookings and booked a flight to Varanasi from where she would visit Prayagraj Two of her best friends who are also into yoga accompanied her ldquoWe decided to arrive at the festival and teach yoga free of cost to the devotees The scale of this Mahakumbh is such that we thought itrsquos the best place to be if you are a yoga enthusiastrdquo she saysSadhus walk during a religious procession of the Niranjani Akhara in Prayagraj on January 4 2025 PicGetty ImagesSetting up their yoga space was difficult at the banks as the space was packed so they decided to move towards the cityside tents where there was a small space that could accommodate about 15 people ldquoI know itrsquos not a lot of people but there is hardly any space to have more folks here On the first day it was a mix of people who came to learn the basic moves which included four foreigners from Italy the US Japan and Indonesia and about a dozen Indians The next day the number of foreigners increasedrdquoIt has almost been a week since Shah and her two friends have been giving yoga lessons to devotees at Kumbh something they always wanted to do as they believe ldquoyoga is best practised when it is sharedrdquoldquoI am glad we took the call to be here Teaching yoga at the Mahakumbh may be the peak of our yoga experiencerdquo says ShahPilgrims take a selfie picture with a man dressed as Lord Krishna during a religious procession in Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on January 12 2025 PicGetty ImagesOne trip many motivesAparna More Yoga instructor 50For Aparna More the Mahakumbh holds multiple reasons for her visit Apart from being a onceinalifetime experience the Powai resident aims to deepen her spirituality by meeting the Naga sadhus bring her nearly 80yearold mother to the sacred festival and advance her yoga practice As a yoga practitioner planning to visit the Mahakumbh later this month she shares ldquoIrsquoll be conducting yoga and meditation sessions there Itrsquos such a sacred place and currently even more so The energy will be very intense which is one of my main intentions for goingrdquolsquoWant to take a dip at least oncersquoVikrant Solanki data scientist 27Vikrant Solanki had spent his entire life in Juhu until Class 12 after which he enrolled in a university in Sonipat The Juhu boy stepped out of his cocoon for the first time and soon realised that he had a penchant for solo travel ldquoMy college mates would visit Kasol Manali and Dehradun I often travelled with them but the sense of freedom I discovered after moving out for college was entirely new to me I started exploring towns and cities on the banks of the Ganges Yamuna and Beasrdquo he explainsThe 27yearold now works as a data scientist in Mumbai He adds ldquoLast year I visited Agra and Varanasi This time my friends who arenrsquot really religious also made plans for Sangam in Allahabad now Prayagraj I didnrsquot want to tag along with them as their plans didnrsquot align with mine I wanted to see India from a closer lens They wanted a trip that looked aesthetic and mystical for the lsquoGram I believe social media has ruined that aspect for our generationrdquoWith the aim of interacting with sadhus and aghoris who have always fascinated Solanki he planned to witness three major snaans baths at Mahakumbhmdashthe first three that his work schedule would allow him the Paush Purnima the Makar Sankranti snaan and the Mauni Amavasya snaan all within a fortnight in January ldquoI decided to take the train instead of a flight from Mumbai Chugging through the countryside is quite a surreal experience compared to just landing at the airport and arriving at the Sangam site I could capture some photos from the railway bridge of lakhs of devotees and the tents set up for Mahakumbhrdquo he saysWhile he was overwhelmed at first when he arrived at the Sangam site Solanki now says that the best part about being at the Mahakumbh is that there is very little VIP culture here except for the few larger tents set up towards the north of the festival site ldquoMost of the VIP tents are booked for the seers only which I think is fair as they need more space due to the thousands of devotees visiting themrdquo says SolankiThe Juhu resident adds ldquoI couldnrsquot gather the courage to take a dip in the icecold waters of Sangam during the first two snaans but I am here until January 29 Letrsquos hope I am able to do that at least once without falling sickrdquolsquoHavenrsquot seen this glimmer in momrsquos eyes since dad diedrsquoNaveen Hiremath HR professional 47Growing up in Worli Naveen Kumar Hiremath an HR professional in a Churchgatebased firm saw his mother Savitri and father Uday Hiremath always busy in the grind of a workingclass life With his fathermdashan accountant at a construction companymdashmostly being away for work Naveen and his homemaker mum rarely got to spend time with himThere was always something that got in the waymdashschool college assignments and eventually Naveenrsquos own work responsibilities The most they could manage for vacations while his father was alive was visiting their village in Amravati as well as coastal destinations like Ratnagiri and Goa ldquoWe never really left the state except for a couple of times when we went to Dwarka back when I was in college and Goa when I was youngerrdquo says NaveenAs Mahakumbh approached and his neighbours were booking their tickets to the festival Naveen decided he didnrsquot want to miss out on this onceinalifetime opportunity His mother now almost 80 years old is frail but her face lit up when he mentioned a trip to Prayagraj and maybe even Kashi ldquoInitially we didnrsquot get tickets to Prayagraj We had decided on the plan too late in midDecember But I knew I would have to put in extra effort to get the train tickets So I decided to wait in the Tatkal queue at CSMT for about 10 days daily at 10 am Luckily my office is in Churchgate so it wasnrsquot much of a problem to get to work from there It was on the 10th day January 11 that I got two tickets to Prayagraj Chheoki Junction on Mahanagri Expressrdquo he saysWith less than a day to leave the motherson duo quickly packed for a weeklong trip last Sunday ldquoGetting a hotel was easier than I thought given that crores of people are going to Prayagraj But the rates are nearly triple what they usually are But itrsquos fine I havenrsquot seen this shimmer in my motherrsquos eyes since my father passed away We will also visit Kashi for two days before returning to Mumbai by next Sundayrdquo says Naveen