New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) Clad in matching white shirt and saffron lungi, a group of six friends from Karnataka visited the Maha Kumbh mela on Tuesday as part of multi-city spiritual road trip, reflecting the symbolic ‘sangam’ of north and south India.
The six men from Belagavi — who travelled together in a private car from the southern city in Karnataka — took the holy dip at the Triveni Sangam in the early hours, two days before the mega religious festival comes to an end.
Basappa Sankratti, 40, said they all decided to undertake this “spiritual trip” together in a such a way that they could visit Prayagraj for the Kumbh and then continue the journey.
“We all have come to Kumbh Mela for the first time ever. Our trip began from Belagavi and our first stop was Varanasi. From there, we moved to Ayodhya for darshan at Ram Mandir and then next destination was Prayagraj,” he told PTI in the early hours of Wednesday, while walking to the parking lot from the Sangam.
Wearing crisp white kurta and bright saffron lungi, the six men stood out in the crowd as they made their way to their next destination on Triveni Marg.
“Our next destination is Ujjain, followed by Nasik and then on to Shiridi shrine. We plan to leave today for the onward journey,” Sankratti said.
The eldest in the group is Hanumanth Patil, 44, and the youngest of the lot is Basavaraju Biligi, 26.
“We have already covered about 2,200 km and another 2,000 km is left before we return to Belagavi. So, by the end of the trip, we would have covered over 4,000 km,” Sankratti said.
Bhimappa Kullolli, 35, and others also carried a water container each carrying Ganga Jal.
“We are taking the holy water to our city, so it’s like a ‘sangam’ of north and south,” he said.
Asked if they wanted to bring their families along to this trip, Sankratti said that his wife and children also wanted to come, but due to recent stampede here and other safety concerns, “we all six friends decided to travel by ourselves only”.
“Maybe, in next Kumbh we will be joined by our family members,” he added. PTI KND AS AS
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