Witness the March of the Ages at Khumbh Mela 2013

India, a cultural heritage, is the seventh largest country in South Asia. Known for its spirituality and royalty, people from all over the world love to visit India. Every year, millions of tourist visit India for various classical, adventure, regional, outbound and spiritual tours. The festival that attracts most of the tourists to India is the Khumbh Mela 2013. This mela is one of the largest gatherings of people in the world for a religious purpose.

Moreover, this mela is celebrated four times every 12 years between four pilgrimage places; Haridwar, Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad. The Khumbh Mela 2013 will be held at Allahabad from 27th January, 2013 to 25th February, 2013. It is a very big event with the entire atmosphere enchanting with chiming bells, hymns and mantras. The incense and flower fragrance is so captivating that the devotees get involved in the atmosphere and forget about everything else. People from all over the world gather to watch the Khumbh Mela processions, which is like witnessing the march of the ages. As the saints proceed on their horses, chariots, camels and elephants, they transmit waves of powerful energy continually to all the people present there. This is overwhelming for the devotees as they surrender themselves to the spiritual vibrations of the atmosphere.

On the other hand, a large number of tourists come to India for spiritual tours. One such occasion is the shradh rituals. This is a Hindu ritual performed for one's ancestors, especially immediate family members. It is performed on a big scale in the holy city of Haridwar, on the banks of the river Ganges. Moreover, this ritual is performed mostly by the Hindus from various parts of the world.

The duration of the shradh rituals is fourteen days every year. Depending on the death time of the ancestor, a specific day is allotted for making the offerings. It is believed that on this day, the pitras (ancestors) are able to approach to the earth and they feed on the energies of the living. As it is a respectful feeling for the ancestors, the ritual is performed with full dedication and generous offerings are given to the saints and other poor and handicapped people. Also, the ritual is performed by male members of the family for alleviating the suffering of the dead and letting their souls rest in peace.