Pilgrimage and power
Subtitle: the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, 1765-1954
By: Kama Maclean.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 344
ISBN-13: 9780195338942
Subjects: Kumbha Melā (Hindu festival) -- India -- Allahabad -- Political aspects -- History; Kumbha Melā (Hindu festival) -- India -- Allahabad -- Social aspects -- History
Description: "Today the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, is a major Hindu religious pilgrimage and the largest religious gathering in the world. In 2001, according to the government of Uttar Pradesh, 30 million pilgrims were drawn to the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna on the most auspicious day for bathing. In an impressive feat of organization and administration, the first mela of the new millennium was managed to the overwhelming satisfaction of most, with an impressive health and safety record." "Kama Maclean tells the important story of the Kumbh Mela with detail as well as scholarly attention, illuminating for the reader the full scope of the event's historical and sociopolitical context."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [310]-332) and index.