Feb 5-7 th , 2013. Kumbh Mela Allahabad. The Maha Maha Kumbh! Don’t know where it arose from – but all of a sudden I had an urge to visit what is known as the ‘world’s biggest spiritual gathering’, the Maha Kumbh that occurs once in every 12 years. I threw out the idea amongst my cousins and one of them said, “Hey, my mom-in-law is going in 2 weeks. She has family that lives in Allahabad and you could easily just stay with them.” I was set. Shaped by popular media and old Bollywood films, my impression of the Kumbh was that of a chaotic, over-populated and under-regulated stampede. Therefore the idea of staying with a local family appealed to me. I booked my flight to Lucknow, met the family at the airport and we embarked on a 5 hour journey to Allahabad by road. This was my first visit to UP, India’s most populous state. I marveled at the Lucknow airport, which was far superior to most airports in comparable cities in India (Jaipur, Calcutta etc.). There is a ‘ne