Brijesh Daga

Indian.

[Shaurya Sinha @shaurya_sinha7]

This Independence Day 🇮🇳, I asked, "What will the next century of young Indians look like?"

$0.01 Drone Deliveries. UAVs that never land. Groceries in under 10 minutes.

Meet The 22nd Century Indian. A Documentary on a New India.

[Hema Malini @dreamgirlhema]

Special tribute to Dharam ji highlighting his evergreen appeal, his charisma, his immense talent and his tremendous, impactful presence in all his movies. This visual trbute was made for the two prayer meetings that I had arranged in Delhi and Mathura 🙏

[Harsh Goenka @hvgoenka]

Indian classical music at its purest- magic in every note @Singer_kaushiki

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@sanjeevsanyal Sadly no one talks about the delayed credit of interest year after year and the loss on compounding thereof. EPFO is not another savings account where UPI / ATM withdrawals are needed. If only they can get the basics first, that itself will be sufficient.

[Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 @ShefVaidya]

#LongRead

Mahakumbh: Pilgrim, Provider and Purpose

The #Mahakumbh truly belongs only to two kinds of people. Those who come with nothing but faith in their hearts, people who wait for hours patiently for their turn to take a holy dip, who carry huge gallons to take Gangajal back home, people who don’t complain, people who only believe! They are the true pilgrims.

They step into the sacred confluence as if stepping beyond time itself, surrendering their bodies and minds to the icy embrace of the waters of the Sangam, believing that for that moment, the river will hold them in its dimly lit waters like a mother holds a baby in her womb, cleansing lifetimes of accumulated Karmic dust from their atmans.

And then, the #Mahakumbh belongs to those who serve. Those who come not to seek, but to give. The 15,000 Safai Mitras, who erase the footprints of millions so that the next day dawns upon a spotless riverbank. The 1,25,000 police officers, who move through the sea of humanity, guiding, shielding, sometimes just standing as watchful sentinels of order in the chaos.

The #Mahakumbh belongs to thousands of rescue workers, who wait in quiet readiness, hoping their skills will not be needed, but knowing they must always be prepared. Drivers of the 550 shuttle buses that ferry pilgrims to the Sangam, countless people who offer free Bhandara to the hungry, and free foot massages to the weary, doctors who offer Sewa at clinics run by so many religious institutions. Boatmen who take the pilgrims on a ride, even the much reviled bureaucrats who work 18 hour days to make it all happen!

The rest of us, the casual and the curious, the fascinated, the ones who marvel at the ‘scale of the event’ are merely passing through. We are impressed by the neat rows of tent cities rising from the dust, the miracle of flushing toilets in a place that should have none, the number of drones hovering overhead, the logistics that allow a teeming, restless ocean of people to move as one and yet never break. We see the spectacle; we admire the precision, we may even discover our devotion as the river washes over us like a silken veil.

But we are neither the ones who place all our faith in the water, nor are we the ones who ensure that the river flows undisturbed.

We are the curious onlookers, peering through the window of history, of devotion, of duty, knowing fully well that once we leave, the Mahakumbh will continue without us, just as it always has.

The Kumbh is not just an ‘event’, it is a throbbing heartbeat of Bharat that echoes every twelve years, calling people with Bhakti, and summoning the guardians, the providers of Seva, the people who have the Shakti to make that happen.

Yes, we are only visitors. The Kumbh truly belongs only to those who truly believe, and to those who wholeheartedly serve! @myogiadityanath @Kulture_kumbh @shantanug_ @MahaKumbh_2025 @MahaaKumbh

Shefali Vaidya

[Rahul Roushan @rahulroushan]

A non-literary blog on my visit to Mahakumbh

All roads lead to Mahakumbh, but there are police barricades on most of the roads. Stupid line I know, but let me jot down my thoughts and experiences of taking the holy dip at Triveni Sangam a couple of days back – on Republic Day to be precise. This could help a few planning to go there, as Mahakumbh is still only half over.

First of all, if you are planning to visit Prayagraj tomorrow – that is on Mauni Amavasya – don’t, unless you had planned like a month in advance and are already physically present in the city. Unprecedented crowd is expected to be there and movement of vehicular movement has been hugely restricted.

I visited the city in my own car from Delhi. The route I took was Delhi -> Lucknow -> Ayodhya ->Prayagraj. This is rather a longer route but I took that as visiting Ayodhya Ram Temple (third time) was part of our plans too. But no matter what route you take, you will face traffic jams and diversions due to barricading by police.

So, the first tip – forget Google Maps when nearabout 50 kilometers radius of the city or when you encounter barricades, whichever is earlier. Police will divert you to a different road and google maps in all possibility will think you’ve lost your way; so it will reroute and bring you back to the same place, and you’d feel like an absolute idiot. Go old school, keep asking local folks for directions. In all probability, the police guy will only tell you the alternate route to take.

Once in the city, entirely ignore google maps, or just close it only; depend upon local folks for directions. Here, the policemen may not be helpful because many of them have been pulled in from different cities for special Kumbh duty and they themselves don’t know much about the city. Try to catch hold of a local resident, an autorickshaw driver, a paan waala, etc. and ask for directions.

Stay at Prayagraj is equally challenging. Hotels are charging like 4-5 times their normal rates or even higher. Many small hotels are have sprung up in last few months, so you may not be able to find them on google maps either and could wonder if it’s a scam. Some can be scam too, as government has also cautioned, so be careful. I took help of a local resident in booking a hotel a week prior to leaving. Very ordinary one with rates of 3-4 star hotel, but it had lift and parking facility, so worked for me.

If you are rich (I am not, so helprahul@icici) you can stay in private tent accommodations from companies that are listed on official website https://t.co/KYTGEFqcOd – they are expensive, but I think worth it (will come to that later). Initially I tried booking there but folks were not responding on time and then I realized I was not rich.

If you can find a place to stay and find a way to reach – half the battle is won, but only half. To win the other half of the battle – you need to be clear why are you even visiting Kumbh.

Is it only to take the holy dip at Sangam? Is it to experience and witness the mela (including trying to get a glimpse of all ‘viral’ babas)? Is it to explore other places in the city too (there are many temples, historic places, etc.)?

If it’s only to take the dip, you can very well do that in single day and start your return journey. You can take the dip in two ways – walk up to Sangam ghat or take a boat from some other ghat and go to the Triveni Sangam. Walking up to the ghat obviously depends upon where you are staying, but in all probability, you would need to walk more than 3 kms (some folks are walking like 9-10 kms) on foot. At the ghat itself, you’d encounter huge crowds and it will take you considerable time. If you want to save time and don’t want to walk, you’d have to spend money and take a boat from a different ghat.

We (I went with parents, wife and kid) took boat from a different ghat and went to Triveni Sangam. The experience was pretty smooth except finding a boatman who will agree to take us to the place. The boatmen are charging like 1000 or 1500 rupees per head, which is way way way above the government approved rates (which is 150 rupees or less depending upon how far the ghat is from Sangam). They are scared of policemen who could force them to onboard devotees at approved rates, so they find excuses to vanish (going to lunch, need to pee, etc.) when they see policemen. The govt approved rates are aimed at making it affordable for all, but the boatmen clearly feel that why should they not earn more if hoteliers and others are earning? We didn’t mind being ‘fleeced’ and paid 1500 per head.

As we approached Triveni Sangam, it was really mesmerizing. Thousands of people on various boats and even more thousands at the Sangam ghat, and yet, unlike city traffic and roads, no chaos. The boatman waits while you take a dip at place where river depth is just 3-4 feet. Wooden platforms are put in place where boats are anchored on one side and people get on to it take the dip on the other side. Special changing rooms for women are also there on those platforms, as you can’t come back drenched in the boat.

While on the boat towards Triveni Sangam and back to the ghat, you would witness a helicopter flying – which is a commercial ride that gives you a bird’s eye view of the divine gathering. It is a short trip hardly lasting a couple of minutes and the chopper makes several rounds with new batch of passengers. Our boatman said it costs 1500 rupees, but I can’t confirm if that’s the correct rate. We couldn’t try as we needed to get back to the hotel.

While on boat, you can feed Siberian seagulls. You can also see folks paragliding – motorized ones – that is available on Arail ghat, where private tent accommodations are built (that I didn’t book as I don’t identify as rich). If you book there, you are living next to a ghat from where you can board a boat or can walk up to Sangam ghat using pontoon bridges (a few kms), and enjoy stuff like paragliding, which is why I said I think probably it’s worth it.

So if your aim is to just take the dip, one full day is enough. But if you want to do other things, you must plan a longer stay. The mela area and mela itself has much to offer and you could need more than a couple of days to explore all – say visiting akharas, checking out some exhibitions, visiting pandals, watching the mela in literal sense – joy rides, things to eat, stuff to buy, etc.

If you plan to visit temples, huge queues and big crowds would be waiting you there too and probably your entire day would be gone in visiting just a couple of temples (Lete huye Hanumanji temple, Nagvasuki temple, etc.). If you want to explore other places in the city, not a good idea in all probability as city traffic has gone for a toss, and some places could be closed for visitors too.

While it may appear a bit chaotic, actually just taking the scale of the gathering, the management and preparations by the government is absolutely praiseworthy. Cleanliness is being maintained on top priority, tents are there to help poor folks spend a night or to take a break for their journey, and security persons are not misbehaving (credit to them as such a large crowd and non-stop chatter and confusion from such folks can drive anyone crazy).

Just think about it, population bigger than so many countries are converging to a small part of one city. It’s almost impossible to have required infrastructure in place to handle such a rush, but it’s being handled. I didn’t take help of any person in govt to plan my trip. I didn’t have any pass for my vehicle. I didn’t stay in any VIP tent or anything. But I could complete the trip without much hassle. If you can afford, I’d suggest go for it.

The Mahakumbh experience is not just about the holy dip. It’s the vibes. One might wonder what vibes are there to enjoy in a place that is going to be overcrowded and chaotic. But it’s really about the people and their faith – it’s contagious, especially for someone like me who has been a ‘liberal’ and ‘raita’ for most part of life. I felt so humbled seeing ordinary folks displaying all strength of character and resolve. It’s like if they have decided to complete this one thing, no force on earth can discourage them from going ahead, as against me who’d change plans five times a day after seeing red lines on google maps.

Mahakumbh shows that when some ‘intellectual’ like Ram Guha argues that Hinduism is not a ‘congregational religion’, he is essentially talking through his ass. This biggest ever congregation of human beings – from all states and foreign countries, comprising the rich and the poor, speaking all kinds of languages – is testament to a faith that is alive and has braced various challenges through centuries. We’ve been there, we’d be there. For next 6 years, for next 12 years, for next 144 years, and beyond.

🙏

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@gar_i_ma Click-bait.

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@MeghUpdates Good initiative by the samaj.

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@menakadoshi Not to mention the loss of compounding effect on the interest. Why is there no penalty on EPFO in delayed “debt servicing”? Every taxpayer has to pay interest on delayed payment of advance taxes. Why isn’t same logic applied here.

[menaka doshi @menakadoshi]

EPFO is a nightmare. I've been trying for over a year to merge two accounts (past and present employer).

All other information has been same for 20 years. Yet merger denied.

All I get is cryptic dismissals of complaints - case closed.

No interest paid for two years.

Between tax, epfo and every other government service - unending KYC and unending bureaucracy. It's fatiguing.

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@DeepikaBhardwaj Marriage.

[India Wants To Know: India's First Panel Quiz Show @IWTKQuiz]

Thirty nine years ago, the world witnessed (what was voted) the greatest live rock performance of all time.

22 amazing minutes of Queen at Live Aid - check it out!

[Sanjeev Sanyal @sanjeevsanyal]

My podcast on The Neon Show where I discuss the "poverty of aspiration", the manipulation of narratives by foreign NGOs, the unhealthy craze for UPSC and the cause of Kolkata's decline:
https://t.co/esNoGEWKNv

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@ActusDei @RahulBajoria_ Of course. At least PPF does it right.

[Jayesh Daga @JayeshDaga]

Booked flight thru @YatraOfficial. @flyspicejet rescheduled the flight 23Mar to 25Mar. My return flight was @IndiGo6E on 24Mar. #yatra wont take responsibility though they charge fee, #indigo charging me nearly 70% and #yatra wants more money to cancel @DGCAIndia @JM_Scindia

[Anand Ranganathan @ARanganathan72]

As the blindfolds came off Ram Lalla, revealing a face as brilliant as a thousand moons, 300 miles west, buried under the steps of the Jahanara mosque, bearing the weight of a million feet as they strode in to offer namaz, the idol of baby Krishna stirred. Soon, it smiled. Soon.

[Brijesh Daga @brijeshdaga]

@sushantsareen But everyone did see it coming!

[CNBC-TV18 @CNBCTV18Live]

#NewsFlash | #SECI releases list of cos awarded order to set up Electrolyser manufacturing capacity

Adani New Ind, L&T Electrolysers, Gensol Engg amongst cos to set up Electrolyser manufacturing unit, says SECI

[Vikas Saraswat @VikasSaraswat]

बाँके बिहारी मंदिर में कल फिर भारी भीड़ के चलते हालात बिगड़ गये। दर्शनार्थियों की लाइन तीन किमी लंबी थी। दो महिलाओं की मौत हुई है। और ऐसा पहली बार नहीं हुआ है। परंतु फिर भी एक लॉबी काॅरीडोर और सड़क चौड़ीकरण का जमकर विरोध कर रही है।