To Kumbh Mela with love, all the way from Shanghai

NASHIK: Their list of "likes" is long — sadhus sporting bright saffron with ashes smeared all over, the huge congregation of people from a variety of backgrounds, animals lazing on the roads, a mix of old and new swanky cars zipping past every now and then. 

Their list of "dislike" is brief — not many restaurants in the city offer authentic Chinese food and the dishes available are a tad spicy. 

Meet the group of eight passionate shutterbugs from China who are in the city busy capturing the myriad mood of Kumbh Mela, arguably the biggest religious congregation on the Earth. Life for them, like the lakhs visiting the city these days, revolves around Ramkund, the epicentre of all Kumbh activities, though they are putting up at the lush green Shubham Water Park off the city on Trimbak road. 

The group of eight professional and amateur photographers from Shanghai had done their research on the Kumbh Mela before visiting Nashik. "But we realised the scale of the Mela, not to talk about people's faith in it, only when we came here. The sight of a sadhu with ashes smeared all over is the signature of this faith," said Jeffery Wen, a member of the group. 

Ren Huijun who took the initiative of organising the trip, said she had read about the camel festival in Pushkar, Rajasthan. "But we opted to visit Nashik on learning that the Kumbh Mela will be a bigger event. The people of this country are extremely warm and friendly. Our aim is to capture its culture through our lenses." 

Tang Qindi, on the other hand, was amused by the way the Mela has been organized. "The pilgrims wait patiently for hours in long queues as they visit the temples. We think that their devotion helped them stay patient. Besides, the administration has held the event efficiently. The crowd was huge, but there was no chaos," said Qindi, who has come to Nashik with two of her brothers. 

But on one aspect they were unanimous. "More Chinese restaurants should be opened in Nashik as many tourists from our country will visit this city in near future. Besides, the Chinese food available here has a specific taste and is spicy," was the common refrain.