Aadhya Films

And finally the बसंत पंचमी शाही स्नान | 03/02/25

Was this really after 144 years? I don't know!
Did they all truly believe in liberation? I don't know!
Did they come here through advertisement or through connection? I don't know!

But, this truly was an experience that will live rent free in my mind. I kept wondering how a thought can be so powerful that it brought them all here, making them think that living in this 'Kalyug' and taking a dip in the Sangam would cleanse one's soul. On this thought, I remembered something Kabir Das said,

"नहाये धोये क्या हुआ, जो मन मैल न जाए ।
मीन सदा जल में रहे, धोये बास न जाए ॥"

Har Har Mahadev!!

ाकुंभ

[Mahakumbh, Basant Panchami Shahi Snan, Naga Sadhus, Kumbh mela, Har Har Mahadev, Prayagraj]

A story of modern-day blessers. Roaming through the Kumbh Mela, with no sign of their parents, they dress as gods—not just to seek blessings, but to earn a living.

They are everywhere, their painted faces and bright costumes blending into the sea of devotion. People give them money, believing that “bache toh bhagwan ka hi roop hote hai."

Perhaps this is not deception, nor devotion—just another way to endure. At the heart of it all, survival blurs the line between right and wrong, leaving only the unspoken truth: we do what we must to exist.

Har Har Mahadev!!

He lay among the thorns, convincing others the act was for 'him'. Reality remained silent, undisturbed—until we uncovered the truth. Was the problem the visible suffering or the invisible intention behind it?

Each thorn piercing his skin carried an unheard cry, not for salvation, but survival. He was not a true ascetic, yet his pain was real. He bled, not for faith, but for his family’s hunger. In the end, does it matter why he suffered? If pain is endured for survival, does it make the suffering any less real?

"खोजी होए तुरत मिल जाऊं एक पल की ही तलाश में ।
कहे कबीर सुनो भाई साधो, मैं तो हूँ विशवास में ॥"

Har Har Mahadev!

🕉️

"In Sanātana's grace, no soul shall weep, for hunger fades where dharma runs deep."

While exploring the mela, I came onto a bridge that appeared like the painted pillars were filled with a vast crowd, stretching endlessly like the sea and carrying a depth of purpose and devotion.

Devotees and well-wishers were seated beneath the bridge, blessing everyone. Did these blessings come to pass? Delivering blessings in a special way while sitting on a camel or by the side of the road. There were two types of giving: purposeful and purposeless.

If blessings are meant to flow like an endless river, do they truly lie in what we receive, or in the depth of what we share with others?

Har Har Mahadev!!

🕉️

The Day before the मौनी अमावस्या | Excitement surging in me. Roaming the sectors of the mela, witnessing a world of devotees with only one aim among them all, to take a dip in the Sangam. Millions of people are coming with their families with no knowledge of the upcoming night. New bodies, old souls, old bodies, and holy souls all come together to empty their "paap ka matka." A friendship started a business by making a clay idol of Shiv and waiting for people to come to worship the idol and give them offerings on which they can live the day. Walking among so many unknown faces with a similar known belief.

"दो दिन का ये मेला है
खेला फिर उठ जाना है
आना है जाना है
जीवन चलते जाना है"

The day passes by for all, and the night stops for many.

Expressionless faces, hunger eating them alive, taking a dip in the amrit, the ones saved stood in a line. Satisfied their soul, now satisfying the soma. Eating bhandara, waiting for their next bulava.

Har Har Mahadev!