When it comes to festivals, I tend to use a pair of Burning Man glasses – or, better yet, goggles – when comparing and contrasting any group celebration with that annual art festival in the Nevada desert. But, the Hindu-celebrating Kumbh Mela gave me a new lens in which to view my favorite annual fest as I now understand Burning Man to be a “pagan Kumbh Mela.”
The most obvious commonality is that these two festivals require a gargantuan effort to create a temporary tent village. The logistics and commitment of volunteers to create Burning Man for 80,000 people in the inhospitable high desert is mind-boggling. And, we’re proud to say that on Burning Man’s peak night, Black Rock City (the name of the Burning Man village) is the third most populous city in the state of Nevada. But, that’s child’s play compared to Kumbh Mela which, on the most auspicious bathing period, welcomes approximately 35 million people on that day alone, making it the most populous city on earth. And, since the Mela lasts 55 days, as compared to a week and a half for Burning Man, the number of visitors over the course of that time is estimated to be as many as 100 million devotees.
Both festivals are visually spectacular and both have afternoon dust storms. They’re places where nude isn’t considered lewd. And, you might be surprised that Burning Man has many more yoga classes per capita than does this largest festival in India. I will also say that Burning Man has gotten the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs right with ample porta-potties, ice and water, and morning mochas available for those caffeine addicts. At Kumbh Mela, unless you’re connected to a camp, you may be doing your bathroom duties partially publicly in a trench next to the beach. But, due to thousands of years of perfecting, the Mela definitely has gotten the top of Maslow’s pyramid right (turning it from self-actualization to self-transcendence).
I know Burning Man founder Larry Harvey didn’t have Kumbh Mela in mind when he first burned an effigy on the beach in San Francisco. This blossomed into a festival dedicated to using art as a means of one regenerating oneself, but the similarities are uncanny and say something about the commonality of enduring human ritual.
The mark of a spectacular festival is enthusiasts tend to be vigilant about making sure it continues to evolve into something better. You don’t hear, “It’s not like it used to be,” at festivals that are on the decline. You will forever hear a few people grousing about how Burning Man or Kumbh Mela are ruined, but what they usually mean is that it’s more popular than ever and there are some downsides to that popularity.
Yes, both Burning Man and Kumbh Mela have become cultural icons within their very different worlds, but they’ve also stood the test of time and the risks of outside influences. And, they both make it on my Top 5 list of the festivals you must visit in your lifetime (well, truth be told, Kumbh Mela should be visited during one of your lifetimes…LOL). If you want to read a sampling of my blog posts from a dozen years ago based upon my travels to 36 festivals in 16 countries in one year, you can find it HERE. If you want to go to the Kumbh in early 2025, here’s a site to book accommodations (I stayed in an Ashram a mile away).
-Chip