Mahakumbh

To quench my wanderlust on a cold wintry day
I started walking the dusty streets of Allahabad towards the 'Sangam',which was quite faraway.
They said that it will take you hours to reach,
can you walk further with those blisters on your feet?
But an inexorable force took a hold on me
It would not let me stop 'till
I could see
the blue waters of the Ganges merging
with the gray of Yamuna and the green of the arcane Saraswati creating a swirl,in the drudgery of that cold wintry day,
before the orange sun dropped silently in the river with the last sunray.
Creating golden eddies in the cold blue water
momentarily lighting up the wizened faces of the village elders,
who had gathered on the river bank to take a holy dip
for this was the "Mahakumbh"
and reaching the 'mela' was the sole purpose of their trip.
I sat there quietly on the bank of the mighty Ganges,
my mind lost in the incessant chatter of men and women who had converged that day in the belief that the holy water would wash away all theIr sins
and getting drenched in that magical potion,in their own eyes they would be redeemed.
I was tempted to join them
but I sat there transfixed
as I watched the night arrive in the swirling mist.
Slowly i pulled myself up on
my feet
and started my journey back home down the silvery bank which was now neon-lit.
Quietly, I carried back with me my burden of sins
because I knew 'Karma' cannot be washed away
even after a vigorous rinse.