Kumbh, Nashik and Trimbakeshwar
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In brief
The Times of India, Aug 30 2015
Umesh Isalkar, Tushar Pawar & Himanshu Nitnaware
Wine, Worship & Wi-fi
Nestled in the hilly Trimbakeshwar temple area, where a light drizzle every few hours calms down even the Kumbh buzz, are pockets of wi-fi zones where pilgrims sit cradling laptops and high-end digital cameras.Plush AC cottages, with spaghetti and baked beans on the lunch menu, are offering the “complete Kumbh experience“, including a guided tour through the religious congregation and also a joy ride -aboard a helicopter over Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
All this, of course, at a divine cost.Brand Kumbh is also drawing visitors to the wineries in the area that have started recording a steady rise in footfalls from earlier this month. Insulated from the dry days during the shahi snans, given their location beyond Nashik civic limits, owners say on the wishlist of many Kumbh visitors is first worship, and then wineries.
The Nashik Kumbh of 2015 is separated from the last event not just by 12 years. From a religious congregation in its last avatar, the Kumbh is now a mega event pegged to generate business worth Rs 15,000 crore, an estimate that covers hotels, airlines, and transport among other key services. On the Kumbh bandwagon are half dozen websites hardselling the a dozen websites hardselling the event. And they seem to be doing a good job. Wongwiss, a designer from Bangkok, made his accommodation bookings online. Here with a Kumbh veteran Niphon Saengpueng, Wongwiss says he is enjoying the “exciting experience".
