Maha Kumbh comes to Noida: Residents turn society pool into Triveni sangam, take shahi snaan. Watch the viral video
Missed the chance of visiting the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh? Residents of Greater Noida's ATS Society took shahi snaan right in the society.
The Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) is arguably the world's largest religious and spiritual gathering. A staggering crowd of over 60 crore devotees flocked to the Triveni Sangam to perform the shahi snaan and wash away their sins.
The biggies of Bollywood too flocked to the holy site, including actors such as Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Raveena Tandon, Rasha Thadani, Pankaj Tripathi, Juhi Chawala, Preity G Zinta, Nimrat Kaur, Vidyut Jammwal, Anupam Kher, Rajkummar Rao, Patralekhaa, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Sonali Bendre.
Musicians Ricky Kej, Guru Randhawa, Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher, and Neeti Mohan also shared pictures of the spiritual experience.
The official number expected to have visited by the end of the Mela tomorrow (February 26) Prayagraj is 65 crore. But that is not the end of it. Some residents in Greater Noida's ATS society, who couldn't make it to Prayagraj, decided to get creative.
Sangam comes to Noida
Devotees who could not attend the Maha Kumbh in person relied on those who did to collect water from the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj. The residents of Greater Noida's ATS Society then poured the holy water into the society pool and performed the rituals including the shahi snaan (sacred dip). A video of the rituals has been going viral across social media platforms, which also shows several women gathered near the pool, chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ and offering prayers.
As these Noida residents turned their society into the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati, social media users were quick to comment and share their opinions.
Some appreciated the creativity of the residents. A user commented, “Still better then increase traffic and create chaos on roads,” while another wrote, “Atleast its better than digital snaan.”
For the unversed, Deepak Goyal, a Prayagraj-based man, began a start-up by offering ‘digital snaan’ to devotees who could not visit the busy city among the hustle and bustle of the Mela. The idea? Telling people to send their photos on WhatsApp, the printouts of which will then be dipped in the holy water within 24 hours of the transaction, all for the cost of ₹1,100!
Coming back to Noida, an Instagram user opined, “Actually it's good , instead of stampede also not happen also river water will be clean , I think its good (sic).”
On the other hand, the action also instigated some criticism from social media users, who called it, “Broken civic sence and andhbhakti”.
“If that's not a personal pool than there should be an action,” demanded an irate user. Another rationalised, “A river stays pure because it keeps flowing, avoiding stagnation. Meanwhile, these guys are out here sprinkling a drop of it into a stagnant chlorine pool like it’s some magical potion. Yep, totally purified now.”
One commented on the multiple news from the Maha Kumbh Mela, remarking, “Not a single day.. when I have not heard of weirdest new featuring mahakumbh.. it's getting better and better.”
And an X user joked, “And that's what we call Portable Snaan Guys.”
About the Maha Kumbh
The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years and the Maha Kumbh takes place after 12 Kumbhs. So the Maha Kumbh Mela comes after 144 years. The last Maha Kumbh was held in Allahabad (now renamed to Prayagraj) in 1882. This time, the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 began on January 13 and will conclude on Maha Shivratri tomorrow (February 26).
