His passion for photography began with a small box camera presented to him by his father, with which he shot the Naini Lake (Nainital) and won recognition from the magazine Soviet Land. Exhibitions of his work have been held in various places. He has contributed features to the Illustrated Weekly of India, the Sunday Observer and many other Indian magazines, newspapers and photography journals.

A bureaucrat by profession, Govind Swarup is presently the Principal Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra and lives in Mumbai. A former Collector of Nashik, he is closely acquainted with its people and history. This book is his personal tribute to the town and the Kumbh Mela.

Situated on a tableland east of the Western Ghats, the existence of the ancient city of Nashik has been well documented by historians and geographers and in Hindu mythology too. Ptolemy, the Greek geographer, mentions Nashik as a trade and religious centre as early as AD 150. The well-known astronomer and astrologer Varahimir mentions Nashik as one of the towns of India in AD 500. Besides its significance as being one of the places on which theamritfell, Nashik is also religiously significant as one of the forest homes of Rama during his 14 years of exile. This is mentioned in theRamayana. Nashik was also therefore referred to as Rama Tirtha (a place of pilgrimage). On the banks of the river are bathing pools, orkunds, said to be those of Rama, Sita and Laxman. Nashik has also been mentioned in theMahabharataas a 'stop-over' for the Pandavas. The Pandava caves here are archaeologically as well as mythologically significant.

References to this city pre-date even the great Indian epicsRamayana and Mahabharata. Nashik has been mentioned as one of the four holy places of the entire world in the Brahmand Purana. Its name, however, changed with the advent of every newyuga(cycle of time). It was named Padmanagar or the Lotus City in the Kruta Yuga, after thepadmasanaor lotus posture that Brahma adopted while meditating here. Later, in the Treta Yuga, it changed to Trikantak;trimeaning three, to commemorate the end of three demons Khar, Trishir and Dushan on this very soil. In the Dwapar Yuga, the city was called Janasthana - meaning 'well-peopled', to celebrate the numerous yagnasconducted by the ruling King Janak. The city got its present name Nashik in the Kali Yuga, based on the legend that the fiendish Surpanakha (Ravana's sister) pursued Rama's brother Laxman, who cut off her nose, which fell here. The wordnashikameans nose in Sanskrit.

It is believed that during an argument over who was the most powerful god in the universe, Shiva cut off one of Brahma's heads in anger. The skull attached itself to Shiva's back, and he could not get rid of it. He descended on earth looking for a remedy. Shiva got rid of the skull from his back by bathing at the confluence of the rivers Aruna, Varuna and Godavari. This remedy - absolution from the sin of killing a Brahmin by bathing in the Godavari - was revealed to Shiva by his bull, Nandi. The story goes that in exchange for this important remedy, Shiva exempted Nandi from his duties as guardian outside the Kapaleshwara Temple here. Indeed, there is, unusually, no Nandi outside this temple! In this way, everywhere in Nashik, the mythic past mingles with the active present. No amount of industrialization can ever obliterate this great city's colourful and mystical history.

It is perhaps the longing for and the continuity with this past that attracts hordes of people to the Sinhasta Kumbh. As they step on this consecrated land, the strong conviction grows - yes, this is where our ancestors, and before them our gods, set foot. The planets, the waters of the river, the collective belief that the gods themselves descend during the Kumbh - all these come together to validate what the Vedas proclaim: "Aham Brahmasmi" - "I am the Universe." One feels the cosmic reverberation of this Truth at this colossal gathering of seekers.

The river is worshipped in the Godavari Temple near Ram Ghat. The temple is opened to the public once every 12 years during the Kumbh. The saffron flag is hoisted on the dome of this temple to signal the commencement of the mela. In a religion encompassing such a diversity of gods and sects, the triangular saffron flag remains the unifying symbol ofHindudharma. What makes the Nashik Kumbh unique is that the holy dips take place simultaneously in two areas - at Kushavart, a sacred pool near the source of the Godavari, and at Ram Ghat, where the river changes course, flowing south, and grows larger. The place where a river changes its course is considered sacred. Rivers are important and indispensable aspects of Indian life as an invaluable natural resource. In an agrarian economy the flow and direction of a river becomes the making and breaking of millions of lives.

Kushavart is about 28 km from Nashik, in the heart of the temple town of Trimbakeshwar. Ram Ghat is on the banks of the river in the heart of the old city. Earlier, the dips took place at one spot. However, intense fighting between the various sects of Hinduism, mainly the Vaishnavites (followers of Vishnu) and Shaivites (followers of Shiva) over the right to the first dip, led the then rulers, the Peshwas, to take drastic action. Two separate bathing spots were assigned - the original place, Kushavart, where the Shaivites bathe, and Ram Ghat, where the Vaishnavites bathe. The Shahi Snan, or the holy dip in Nashik, occurs on four main auspicious days: Pratham Shahi Snan, which takes place on Shravan Krishna Aamavasya or a moonless night; Dwittiya Shahi Snan which takes place on Sinha Sankranti Parva; Tritiya Shahi Snan, on the Shravani Poornima, a full moon night; and Chaturhi Shahi Snan on Bhadrapad Kushotpatini Amavasya, again a moonless night. The Hindu calendar being a lunar one, the position of the moon is of significance. Themuhurator auspicious timing for these baths lasts for just about an hour.