Author: Amritanshu Vajpayee
If there is one force that binds humanity across cultures, it is the shared joy of renewal and rebirth. And what better symbol of renewal exists than the arrival of spring? In the grand tapestry of the Earth’s seasons, the Vasant (spring) reigns supreme. In Indian culture, the odds are so highly in favour of the popularity of the spring that it has been termed as Rituraj (the king of the seasons). This regal title is no mere poetic flourish; it is deeply rooted in the rhythms of the cosmos. In the Indian system of timekeeping, a season is known…
As the calendar flips to January 2025, the world turns its gaze to a phenomenon unparalleled in scale and spirit — the Kumbh Mela. In this cosmic convergence of faith and humanity, an astounding 40 to 45 million pilgrims from across the globe will gather at the sacred confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, from 13 January to 26 February, united by a shared ritual: the purifying dip that bridges the earthly and the divine. It is a periodic festival (mela) that pulsates with the rhythm of the cosmos, where the convergence of celestial bodies…