In January and February, millions gather at the banks of sacred rivers in Northern India for the Kumbh Mela, a grand religious event occurring every 144 years. This massive congregation, expected to exceed 400 million people, is not just a spiritual gathering but a test of technology. Underwater drones, AI assistants, digital surveillance, location intelligence, aerial drones, bots, and digital commerce all play a part in managing this colossal event. Ensuring everything runs smoothly is a significant challenge, especially with the risk of mass panic near the riverbanks.
The significance and scale of the Maha Kumbh Festival are immense. At its core, it’s a vast Hindu festival, but it’s also a temporary city. This year, it was intended to be a tech festival to ensure the safety of all participants. However, despite these efforts, 30 pilgrims lost their lives in a stampede, with many more injured.
The term “Kumbh” means pot or pitcher. The festival venerates a celestial vessel, believed to have been carried by deities, spilling nectar at specific sacred sites in India. These sites became the four Tirthas: Prayag, Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain. A Kumbh Mela is celebrated every three years at each Tirtha. A special Maha Tirtha occurs every twelve years at the confluence of three sacred rivers in Prayagraj, Northern India.
This year’s 45-day Maha Kumbh is particularly unique, taking place only once every 144 years, coinciding with a rare alignment of the sun, moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. Over 400 million people are expected to travel to the confluence for holy baths and other religious activities until February 26.
Steve Jobs once expressed a desire to visit the Kumbh Mela in a handwritten letter that recently sold for over half a million dollars. Unfortunately, he never experienced it. The festival began smoothly, but a stampede occurred on January 29 during a special ritual washing at dawn, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. This day held particular significance for Hindus due to a celestial event called Mauni Amavasya, drawing an anticipated 100 million attendees. Reports indicated about 75 million people arrived, with 57 million participating in a holy bath by 4 PM. The panic was exacerbated by broken barriers and confusion over closed paths.
Steve Jobs signed his letter with “Shanti,” meaning peace, which is what many attendees seek. However, peace can be easily disrupted by a small push or moment of human panic. This reminds us that well-planned and technologically equipped arrangements are crucial for managing such vast gatherings. The Maha Kumbh Festival highlights the importance of technology.
Jobs’ interest in attending is understandable. The Maha Kumbh is a rare case study of a diverse crowd that requires smooth orchestration. Believers, pilgrims, curious Gen Zs, saints, visitors, and scholars from around the world gather. Additionally, an extraordinary assembly of ascetics emerges from remote retreats in forests, mountains, and caves. Thousands partake in the ritual bath daily. They, like Jobs, seek seamless order and a well-organized event where millions meet without conflict.
How can this be achieved? As Dr. Saroj Sharma, an expert in Indian heritage and spiritual well-being, emphasizes, the Kumbh is not just about a bath. “It’s like being amidst thousands of spiritual light bulbs illuminated at the same time and place. People from countless cultures, states, languages, beliefs, countries, and age groups come to the Kumbh.” It’s essential to keep it positive and peaceful.
The Kumbh Mela is a pop-up metropolis, constructed from tents, pontoons, huts, and bamboo structures. It is dismantled once the festival concludes. The Prayagraj Kumbh symbolizes the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers, holding extraordinary sacred significance for millions. A permanent city would disrupt this.
Millions converge on this temporary city, spanning many square kilometers, for sacred baths. The scale is staggering: 160,000 tents, a 400 km temporary road network, 30 pontoons, a 1,250 km water supply line, strategically placed water dispensers, substations, hundreds of kilometers of transmission cables, thousands of streetlights, and around 3,000 surveillance cameras for monitoring and counting.
The traffic plan prioritizes minimizing congestion while facilitating access, with more space for e-rickshaws and CNG-powered three-wheelers. Many new pontoon bridges and additional roads have been constructed compared to 2019, along with over 102 parking zones across approximately 1,900 hectares in Prayagraj and neighboring districts, accommodating up to 550,000 vehicles. The Kumbh is not only a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage since 2017 but also an economic and cultural epicenter of immense proportions.
The most recent Mela in 2013 generated employment for over 600,000 people and revenues exceeding 1.5 billion euros (120 billion rupees at the time). The religious mass festival also created about 55,000 new jobs in the informal sector (such as tour guides, taxi drivers, interpreters, volunteers, etc.). For Kumbh 2025, revenue is expected to reach approximately 2.8 billion euros (250 billion rupees). On the first day, January 13, over 16.5 million devotees gathered at the Sangam for a holy bath during Paush Purnima (a sacred date for this bath). The scale is immense, and numbers will continue to grow until the final day, February 26.
