Being from Allahabad I grew up with the Kumbh mela every year. It filled my city with almost a million more people. I had visitors frm far coming for a dip in the Holy Ganga. I could not understand as a kid what the big deal was about taking a bath in the river in the cold month of Jan and Feb.

Well now I do and as the Kumbh or rather the Ardh Kumbh is in progress today in Allahabd I miss the crowd, the festivity, extra devotion to God and all the day trips to the sandy shore of the Sangam. Sangam literally means coming together. That is what it is. The place where two rivers meet Ganga and Yamuna. There is a third Saraswati which is invisible. You can see the distinct colors of the two rivers and you can see where they meet. I have never seen somehting like that.

So coming back to Kumbh mela. There is a mela every year called Magh mela. Then every 12 years is the Maha Kumbh. Half way is the Ardh Kumbh. This year is the half way Ardh Kumbh in Prayag or Allahabad.

The Most Important Hindu Spiritual Gathering
takes place once every 3 years, rotating between
four major Hindu pilgrim centers of India
Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik.

The origin of the Kumbh Mela dates back to the time, when there arose a conflict between the gods and the demons over the possession of the pot of amrit, the immortal nectar. As they were involved in the churning of the ocean for the immortal elixir, the ocean yielded many treasures, till finally Dhanvantri came with the coveted pot in his hands.
The gods and the demons fought to posses the pitcher. In the process, some drops of the immortal nectar splashed and fell on the earth at four places: Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik and Ujjain that became the famous pilgrimage centers.

 Allahabad
Trimbakeshwar near Nasik
 Ujjain
 Haridwar near Rishikesh
These are the places where the Kubh mela is held.

The Prayag (Allahabad) Kumbh Mela is the largest and holiest of all melas and is believed to be the most auspicious. The main bathing days are known as 'Shahi Snans' or 'Royal Bathing Days'.  The main bathing days for the Kumbh Mela are: Makar Sankranti, Paush Purnima, Mauni Amavasya, Basant Panchmi, Maghi Poornima and Maha Shivratri.
 

Trimbakeshwar is a holy town that houses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India. It also is the origin of the river Godavari and is situated 38 kms away from Nasik. The Sinhasta Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar. For Nasik the Shahi Snan are the Shravan Purnima ( whole moon) Shravan Amavasya ( new moon) and the Bhadrapad Amavasya. These are in the month of August and September.

Ujjan Kumbh mela took place in 2004 after a gap of 12 years. Ujjan is a town in western Madhya Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Shipra river.

Hardwar, is situated on the foothills of Shivaliks. It is here that the river Ganga, coming down from the gigantic Himalayas, touches the plains. Haridwar is the first place where the river meets the plains. Also known as Mayapuri, Gangadwar, Tapovan and Mokshadwar in the ancient scriptures, Haridwar is a city with immense religious significance and a major pilgrimage town for the Hindus. It is among the seven sacred cities of India and one of the four holy sites for Kumbh Mela. It also finds importance as one of the major Shaktipeeths.

Here is the schedule for the Maha Kumbh.

2010 Maha Kumbh Mela will be held at Haridwar in the foothills of the Himalayas.

2013 Maha Kumbh Mela will be held in January and February Allahabad (Prayag).Ê
Last Maha Kumbh held here was in 2001.

2016 Maha Kumbh will be held in Ujjain.

The schedule for Ardh Kumbh is as follows.

2007: Allahabad Ardh Kumbh 

2010: Hardwar Maha Kumbh and Ujjain Ardh Kumbh

2013: Allahabad Maha Kumbh and Nashik Ardh Kumbh

2016: Ujjain Maha Kumbh andÊHardwar Ardh Kumbh

Image Credit: wikipedia.org