REACHING BASE CAMP: Kumbha Mela blog series Part 2/4

By Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska, London, UK

Once clear of  Varanasi the taxi driver relaxed. He was worried about traffic jams but the road was clear.  There was a welcome tea stop. After a three hour drive the taxi stopped by the side of a field. “This is it", the driver declared. A field in the middle of no where? “We have to walk,” Tushita said. At first the dirt track did not seem so bad and my case on wheels rose to the occasion. But the dirt track soon came to an end. What do I do  now? I am in a field, with a suitcase on wheels which is too heavy to carry. There is no sign of the Kumbh Mela’s tent city I am supposed to be staying in. “Let go, let God,” I told myself.

A farmer appeared, took one look at me and asked: “Kumbh Mela.”  “Yes,” I replied. He picked up my case, put it on his head,  and sped off at the speed of light. Tushita and I followed. After about 20 minutes we reached the outskirts of the tent city. The farmer put down my case, beamed with delight when I gave him 500 rupees and vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Om booked a tent with  Kumbh Sukrit  which, as their website tells us, have been engaged in Kumbh for over a decade through Sukrit Wellness Tours.  

A whole tent city was created to house thousands of people. My tent had a toilet and a shower and hot water which only came out of the tap in the basin after 8pm.

Tushita went to the Sangham and left me to check in. I sat in the reception tent dying to go to the bath room. A German man had the same problem so we asked the receptionist where is the bathroom? He pointed to a tent nearby.  No signs in English. Thank God I learned the Devanagari alphabet and knew mahila was women.

The tent was  comfortable but incredibly hot so I sat in the canteen cooled by the breeze. The wi-fi was only in reception. Meals were served in the canteen tents: three meals a day and tea in the morning and afternoon. Everyone was friendly and had a sense of purpose – to get to the Sangam.

“It is very busy,” Tushita said when she returned. She looked really exhausted. We decided to leave at the crack of dawn the next morning to avoid the crowds and be back at the camp by 10am. In the evening there were bhajans around the campfire. It was pleasant at night and peaceful.

About the author:

Hindumitra Karen Dabrowska lives in London, UK. She first became interested in Sanatana Dharma in 2020 after reading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. In 2022 she visited Babaji’s cave where Yogananda’s master was initiated into kriya yoga. She found India an enchanting, fascinating and welcoming country which she has been visiting twice a year since 2022. She then visited Rishikesh and in it the Vasishtha Cave home of Vasishtha one of the seven immortal saints. In February 2025 she felt it to be a great honor to go to the kumbh mela a very personal spiritual experience shared with millions of people. In her own words "I felt I was part of one gigantic family and we all embarked on a pilgrimage together."

In 2023 she listened to a talk at Laxmi Narayan Temple in West London by Hindumitra Dr Malladi Srinivasa Sastry, founder of Hindumitra Foundation, and was inspired by his clear presentation of the concepts of Sanatana Dharma. The talk was a condensed version of his ten-lesson course “Bring out the best in you – the Sanatana Dharma way” which she studied online. She kept in touch with Dr Malladi by email and WhatsApp and when he heard that she was planning to visit south India in January this year she was invited to Visakhapatnam to see the activities of Hindumitra. There was a fascinating visit to Dimili village where young people gave a performance of traditional dancing and art forms. Hindumitra is keen to promote the preservation of cultural traditions. She also took part in a major Hindumitra event with the theme the world is one family in Visakhapatnam public library where Hindumitra Karen ji spoke about her spiritual journey with Sanatana dharma. The programme attended by over 100 people was very full with a discussion about Hindu parenting and folk culture performances and demonstrations. Residing in UK, Hindumitra Karen ji actively contributes to the spiritual work of Hindumitra and is currently attending weekly classes on Bhagavatam by Hindumitra Dr. Malladi Srinivasa Sastry.