Kalp Vasis pack bags after month-long stay at Ardh Kumbh

Ardh Kumbh Nagar, Jan 31 (UNI) The over five lakh 'kalp vasis' staying at the Ardh Kumbh Nagar have started packing bags.

After a month-long stay here, they would leave for their destinations beginning February 2 though the Mela would continue till February 16, the Mahashivratri day.

February 2 would mark the completion of their 30-day stay at the mela. ''We would take a holy dip in the Sangam on Magi Purnima and leave for homes,'' said K K Ghatopkar, who hails from Maharashtra.

The Maghi Purnima would mark the second full moon (purnima) of the mela. The Kalp Vasis had decended at the mela site on the first full moon nearly a month ago.

The Maghi Purnima would be the fifth of the six bathing festivals during the Ardh Kumbh, three of them being Shahi Snan days.

Mahashivratri would be the last bathing festival of the Ardh Kumbh.

During the period when the Magh Mela is held, a temporary township of tents comes up at Sangam -- the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Lakhs of tents are erected by the Mela administration to enable the devotees live in the area during their stay. Staying in these temporary shelters/tents for the whole duration of the mela leading a sacred life is called 'Kalp Vas'.

Most of the devouts wear unstiched clothes during the Kalp Vas.

The clothes could be either white, yellow or saffron, as per their belief.

The timing of the Kumbh, the month of 'Magh' too is astrologically significant. It's the time when the sun moves into the Tropic Of Capricorn signifying Makar Sakranti', a time when Allahabad receives the direct rays of the sun.

Meanwhile, the Mela administration is expecting 1.2 crore people to take a holy dip in the Sangam on Magi Purnima. ''People would start coming from the night of February 1. The flow is expected to continue till February 2 night,'' DM (Mela) Pragyan Ram Mishra said here.

In case the number of devouts is much higher, the administration would implement 'Scheme 7' to divert the pilgrims to the Sangam through a longer route. ''The idea is not to make the people stand...they should keep moving to maintain flow,'' an official said.

Several of the policemen deployed at the Mela have been shifted to Gorakhpur following a communal flareup there.

UNI