An aerial view of devotees taking a dip in the Triveni Sangam on the eve of Shivratri during the Maha Kumbh, in Prayagraj on Tuesday, February 25, 2025
| Photo Credit: ANI
Vishal Rao, 40, a businessman currently based in Jakarta was keen to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela being organised in Prayagraj of Uttar Pradesh but couldn’t make it due to personal reasons. Pained about not being able to make what is being dubbed as once in a lifetime opportunity, he started looking for alternatives and he landed upon a video of Deepak Goel who offers ‘digital snan’ (bath) service for those unable to visit the fair.
“I was initially hesitant of its legitimacy but when I contacted Mr. Goel, he looked genuine. Explained the process to me that he will take a print of my photo and will dip it in Triveni Sangam, the sacred confluence of river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. This experience couldn’t match the physical one but it was a different feel altogether,” Mr. Rao told The Hindu over phone.
According to the Uttar Pradesh government, over 63 crore people took holy dip in Sangam during the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh, which is set to conclude on Sivaratri, on Wednesday (February 26, 2025). Interestingly, the technology took the festival to the doorsteps of devotees across the globe this time.
From digital bathing services being offered to believers, to selling ‘kumbh’ water on e-commerce websites, the fair this year managed to create a connection like never before.
Karthik Iyer, 42, a software engineer from Bengaluru, was also one of the takers of digital snan service offered by Mr. Goel. Both him and his elderly parents wanted to attend Kumbh Mela but the distance and personal obligations posed hindrances.
“The video that Mr. Goel has shared is soothing and now I am planning to take the digital snan service for my entire family,” he said.
Speaking on how he thought of Digital snan service, Mr. Goel asked when digital darshan (glimpse) of temples gives satisfaction to devotees then why can’t digital bathing.
“Even weddings happened digitally during COVID. People perform pujas digitally in various time zones. Technology is making things easy and one must make the most of it,” he added.
Refusing to share the number of people he provided the service, Mr. Goel said he initially charged ₹1,100 and did it for free for the last two days.
Those who couldn’t relate to digital bathing also opted for buying Sangam water from e-commerce websites like Amazon, Blinkit, etc. The platforms offered different prices for water. Locals in Allahabad also started delivery of Sangam sand and advertised it through social media.
Published – February 26, 2025 01:40 am IST
