Sangam, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh India

Around 7 km from Civil Lines, overlooked by the eastern ramparts of the fort, wide flood plains and muddy banks protrude towards the sacred Sangam (meet). At the point at which the brown Ganges meets the Greenish Yamuna, pandas (priests) perch on small platforms to perform puja (pray) and assist the devout in their ritual ablutions in the shallow waters. Beaches and ghats (bank of river) are littered with the shorn hair of pilgrims who come to offer pind for their deceased parents.

Boats to the Sangam, used by pilgrims and tourists alike, can be rented at the ghat immediately east of the fort, for the recommended government rate of Rs 30 per head. However, most pilgrims pay around Rs 60 and you can be charged as much as Rs 150. Official prices for a whole boat are between Rs 100 and Rs 120 but can soar to more than Rs 250 during peak seasons. On the way to the Sangam, high-pressure aquatic salesmen loom up on the placid waters selling offerings such as coconuts for pilgrims to discard at the confluence. Once abandoned, the offerings are fished up and sold on to other pilgrims – a blatant if efficient form of recycling.

The sacred Sangam is the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. At the Sangam, the waters of the Ganges and the Yamuna can be distinctly seen to merge into one. It is during the Kumbh/Ardh Kumbh that the Sangam truly comes alive … attracting the devout from all across the country.
The holy Sangam is the site for Annual Magha Mela/Ardh Kumbh/Kumbh Mela. Boats are available for visitors.