Workers move with clockwork precision, hammering poles into the earth to raise a metropolis of tents. The aroma of freshly cooked food mingles with the chants of early pilgrims, while tethered drones hover above the bustling grounds like silent sentinels. This grand tableau is the arena of the Mahakumbh, just before the curtains go up. With rituals as ancient as faith itself, in its latest iteration it's also as modern as the algorithms that now help shape it. For centuries, seekers of salvation have converged on the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the myth-borne Saraswati-transacting only with the transcendental. It was the 2001 edition, the first big Kumbh since the advent of the satellite era, that brought the entire world's eyes on this moment of communion.
Fast forward to 2025, and you see that audacious blend of the sacred and the digital fully nativised-a wireless data cocoon in which is enwrapped this mini-cosmos that's expanding to a never-before scale.
Denne historien er fra January 20, 2025-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra January 20, 2025-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Queer Quartet
National Award-winning filmmaker Onir has taken several creative leaps with his queer romance, We Are Faheem & Karun
Changing the Narrative
In an ambitious new touring exhibition across India, veteran photographer Dayanita Singh pushes the boundaries of how we experience images
INDIA'S SPAM WAR
AS UNSOLICITED CALLS AND MESSAGES INUNDATE CELLPHONES, NEW TECH SOLUTIONS AND REGULATIONS AIM TO COUNTER THIS INVASIVE DIGITAL EPIDEMIC. BUT IT'S STILL A LONG HAUL
LALU'S OLIVE BRANCH GAMBIT
Winter may be intensifying in Bihar but the state's political climate is anything but cool.
IN THE PRODUCER'S SEAT
Actor Richa Chadha on being a first-time producer with Girls Will Be Girls, which released recently on Prime Video, and being a new mother
SPRING IN THEIR SETS
The upcoming Spring 2025 Season of the Symphony Orchestra of India at NCPA, Mumbai-headlined by Maestro Zubin Mehta and Sir Mark Elder-promises a host of international performers
SAFFRON'S CROSS CONNECTION
THE BJP REALISES THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IS CRUCIAL FOR THE PARTY TO MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH IN KERALA. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS ALSO AWARE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT
BURNING RESISTANCE
The 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the abandoned Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, awaiting disposal for four decades, has hit a roadblock.
VIRAL FEAR RISES ANEW
The fear is not an irrational one-it's just the other day that the spectre of Covid-19 was harassing the whole world. So as China reports a spike in respiratory illnesses, the memories of planetary disruption have come rushing back.
A PLUM PART
Tahir Raj Bhasin loved getting under the skin of Vikrant, the character he plays in Netflix's Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, whose second season is out now
