 "Smart Bazaar, Maha Kumbh")
In the stillness where the Yamuna, the Ganges, and the mythical Saraswati meet, a world converges, drawn by the call to purify the soul. The Maha Kumbh is a congregation of many things – devotion, commerce and a curious order in chaos.
From tent operators charging as much as a luxury hotel room in New Delhi or Mumbai to humble chaiwalas selling steaming hot tea to weary pilgrims, everyone has a role to play in this 45-day spiritual and economic exchange at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
Spread over 4,000 hectares, the Maha Kumbh’s expanse is divided into 25 sectors. The Uttar Pradesh government expects the fair to host 400-odd million people – that’s more than America’s population – between January 13 and February 26, when the Maha Kumbh concludes.
The numbers present a huge business opportunity. And so, like the undercurrent of the Ganges, commerce hums quietly amid the chants of sadhus and moksha seekers.
At a stall on the road to Triveni Sangam (confluence), 28-year-old Vansh Kumar is busy attending to customers. Kumar’s garment stall is an extension of his shop in Kanpur, which his father runs. Sensing an opportunity, he travelled over 200 km with T-shirts, towels, undergarments, and mats worth a few lakh rupees. “We’ve sold about a third of the stock,” he says. “Hopefully, the rest will sell too as the crowd is expected to swell by the next shahi snan (holy dip)”, which falls on January 29, and then again on February 3, 12 and 26. Kumar hopes his father will join him in a day or two with another lot of goods.
Banking on religion
This year’s Kumbh is one of the country’s most well-funded religious congregations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called it “a Maha Yagya of Unity,” and the central government has pledged a Rs 2,100 crore grant, contributing to a total of Rs 7,500 crore, with the rest coming from the state government.
Apart from its spiritual significance, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has termed it a major economic driver for the state. His government’s investment is expected to contribute Rs 2 trillion to the national economy while nudging the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) up by more than 1 per cent.
A report, titled ‘Economic Blessings from Mahakumbh 2025’, by Australian consultancy Sprout Research projects financial transactions to reach Rs 2-2.5 trillion (approximately $25-30 billion) over these 45 days. This estimate is based on an average expenditure of Rs 6,000-8,000 per person — an increase from Rs 5,000 in 2019 — by around 80 per cent of the anticipated 400 million visitors. The report also highlights that the event could generate approximately 600,000 jobs across various sectors.
Rohit Pal (26), a Prayagraj local, is among those benefitting from these opportunities. He secured a temporary job at Shriram Finance’s booth, selling loans to visitors. Pal proudly recounts financing a two-wheeler for a couple from Rajasthan, although he has been unable to reach them for a follow-up. “I completed my post-graduation in finance last year and am still looking for a full-time job,” he says with a tinge of resignation. His parents encouraged him to earn a few thousands working at the Maha Kumbh rather than remain idle at home.
Pal hopes he can land a job at the booth next to his. This is the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) booth. Through handouts and dedicated personnel targeting children, teenagers, and senior citizens, the RBI aims to promote financial awareness and inclusion.
“I understand it’s unusual for us to be present at such a congregation,” says an RBI official. “One might wonder who would visit, but roughly 2,000 people come in daily.” The conversion rate of people registering on platforms like the Digital Rupee stands at around 50 per day, he adds.
Culture & commerce
It’s not just insurance firms and banks rushing to the event. Many consumer goods giants have also set up booths, perhaps hoping for divine intervention to lift sluggish sales weighed down by inflation.
Brands like Dabur, PepsiCo, ITC, and Reliance are offering samples to pilgrims. How many of them will get converted to customers after munching their way to the ghats is anybody’s guess.
ITC views the mela as more than a religious gathering. “It’s a confluence of spirituality, culture, and commerce,” says a spokesperson. At its Bingo! booth, the company channels Uttar Pradesh’s culture by inviting visitors to create reels with traditional props, and collaborating with local shopkeepers to offer dishes infused with their snack brand – such as Rajasthani chat sprinkled with Bingo! chips.
Coca-Cola, meanwhile, has launched a ‘Maidaan Saaf’ campaign, under which it has distributed 21,500 recycled PET jackets to sanitation workers, boatmen, and waste-management volunteers. “Through this campaign, we aim to unite millions of visitors in collective action to reduce waste, showcasing how recycling transforms discarded items into valuable resources,” says Devyani Rana, vice-president at Coca-Cola India. The company has also installed hydration carts by the ghats, offering refreshments in plastic bottles.
All roads lead to…
This Maha Kumbh is particularly significant due to a rare planetary alignment that happens once every 144 years.
Annirudh Sharma (37), an IT engineer from Bengaluru, for whom it is the second day at the ghats, is both overwhelmed and amazed by the scale of it all. As he gazes over the Sangam, standing bare-chested, he says, “I want to soak it all in and pass these stories on to the next generation.”
Although spiritually fulfilled, Sharma, here with his wife who is expecting, says the pilgrimage is by no means easy on the pocket. The couple’s accommodation alone costs around Rs 5,000 per night.
Prayagraj has witnessed an increase in hotel bookings, with almost a 10-fold jump compared to the same period last year, says Anuj Rathi, chief business and growth officer, Cleartrip. Basic dormitories cost about Rs 1,500 per night, while luxury hotels and tents can go up to Rs 1 lakh a night.
Airfares to and from the city have also more than doubled this January, with 238 weekly flights compared to 116 in January last year, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. SpiceJet and Akasa Air, absent a year ago, now operate 78 and 14 weekly services, respectively.
As demand and airfare continue to rise, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has approved 81 additional flights, increasing Prayagraj’s connectivity to 132 destinations across India.
Over the next few weeks, thousands more will descend on the city where, as Tarun Narayan, a sadhu, says, “faith, tradition, and modernity coexist”. (Deepak Patel contributed to this report)
Railways to operate 360 trains today
With around 100 million people expected to be at the Kumbh on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on Wednesday, the Railways is looking at a record passenger count in a single day.
According to Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satish Kumar, the national transporter will be running close to 360 trains on Wednesday. “We have done meticulous planning and learned from our experience on Jan 13-14... 60 Mainline Electric Multiple Unit trains, in addition to the pre-decided special trains, will be running ... 190 special trains will be plying. 110 regular trains will run as usual. Trains will be available every 4 minutes from Prayagraj," he said.
All special trains are non-air conditioned and unreserved, consisting only of sleeper and general coaches.
The national transporter has conducted drills to reduce its train evacuation time from 30 minutes to 20 minutes -- this means that a train will stop 15-16 minutes for onboarding to passengers, and a new train will be available within four minutes, said Kumar.
