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Akharas cut out the music as 4 million bathe in the Sangam

Sharat Pradhan in Kumbh Nagari (Allahabad)

As many as four million devout Hindus have already taken a dip in the holy waters of the Ganga on Basant Panchami, the fourth auspicious bathing day of the six-week-long Maha Kumbh Mela that opened in Prayag on January 9.

Basant Panchami heralds the onset of spring.

Significantly, the various akharas (Hindu monastic orders) decided to take out quiet processions, without the usual music bands in attendance. "That was our way of condoling the unprecedented tragedy that had struck the people of Gujarat," Mahant Govind Das, general secretary of the All-India Akhara Parishad, said.

"We are expecting at least 10 million people to take a dip by this evening," Mela Commissioner Sadakant told rediff.com at the banks of the Sangam, the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on Monday morning.

"About four million have already bathed along the 6km long river banks by noon," he said. "Bathing began at 2.30 am and has been going on smoothly," he added. Sadakant expected the crowds to start receding by 1600 IST.

Monday was also the last of the three shahi snans (royal baths) by sadhus of the various akharas, including the naked Nagas, who are a key attraction. There were repeated scrambles for the marigold garlands flung by these sadhus into the enthusiastic crowds.

The Nagas had drawn equally keen focus on the two previous shahi snans -- on January 14 and 24 -- when an estimated 7 million and 30 million, respectively, converged at the Sangam for a dip that Hindus believe wash off all their sins.

Numerically, the turnout of the akharas on Basant Panchami was smaller, but the crowds that gathered to hail their colourful processions were large and enthusiastic as usual.

Men, women and children arriving in Allahabad from all corners of the country after tiring journeys positioned themselves along the route to the Sangam from the wee hours to have a glimpse of the 13 akhara processions, the first of which began at 0545 IST.

With folded hands, they welcomed the holy men -- some of them stark naked, some semi-clad and yet others wearing saffron robes -- whom they hold in awe. Slogans like "Har Har Gange", "Har Har Mahadev" and "Jai Gange" reverberated all along the barricaded route to the Sangam.

With the rivers having receded further, people could be seen huddled in knee-deep waters across the two banks, to form a virtual human blanket along the actual confluence, where the bluish-green waters of the Yamuna meet the muddy yellow waters of the Ganga. But such was the surge of the crowds that water was visible only in patches.

Patrolling the area atop a brown stallion, zonal Inspector General of Police O P S Malik said, "The Ganga has receded over the past four days leaving the Sangam shallow; people can even walk across the vast width of the confluence."

The security forces remained unusually strict in preventing the media from shooting pictures of the bath. Camera crews and photographers of both the national and international media were hounded by mounted police.

"We are only executing the orders of the Allahabad high court, which had banned photography and videography in the bathing area," Sadakant explained. "After all this is a spiritual affair and no one has the right to project it in vulgar fashion."

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