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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                            FEBRUARY 06, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 33

            not tainted his wonder of existence
            or barred his unceasing engagement
            with subtler mysteries.
                The Kumbh till this visit was
            seared in his memory only as a theatri-
            cal event of human drama, but in 2025
            it alchemized spiritually into an expe-
            riential landmark expressed as, “I was
            just an insignificant speck of dust on
            the soap bubble of universe.” The ri-
            otous burgeoning of sounds and sights
            around him during the two days were
            not cacophony but the very pulsations
            of his own soul; as he dipped into the
            waters as one of the multitudes, he
            felt blessed for the opportunity to of-
            fer prayers ‘for peace in this turbulent
            world.’ The mammoth spectacle of hu-
            manity and human endeavor brought
            forth an utterance, “Shakti in Bhak-
            ti!” from him, and the Mahakumbh
            translated into a riveting passage of
            transformation too deep for words—
            reaffirming  the  knowledge  that  the
            microcosm and the macrocosm vi-
            brate  together:  My  soul  too  sang
            along with the music of the spheres.                                  A sadhu blowing conch pic from the book
                A delightful potpourri of pro-
            found impressions rooted in person-
            al experience, literary penmanship,  work to be his own Mahakumbh—he
            academic scholarship, and spiritual   understands it as another kind of con-
            insight suffuse the book. The musings   fluence of science and faith where he
            uncover multi dimensions of the Ma-  has witnessed miracles; the ‘hospital
            hakumbh from mythic to astronomic   a temple, every heartbeat a mantra’.
            by  luminaries  in  various  fields  such   Such creative and profound writerly
            as spirituality, fashion, religion, ad-  narratives mark the book as a trea-
            ministration, medicine, journalism,  sure house of fresh insights.
            business,  politics,  theater,  academia,   Message of unity in diversity
            sports, film, art, and music.
             The scintillating writerly roster      ut the book must not mistaken-
                                                    ly be read as a page turner of
                  he scintillating writerly roster  Bthe famous, high or mighty but
                  of  55  names  includes  Pujya   rather viewed as the melding of voices
            TSwami Chidanand Saraswa-         to form one voice of homage to cap-
            ti, Ayaan Ali Bangash, Kabir Bedi,  ture the mightiest sacred geo-astro-
            Harish Parvatheni, Satya Hinduja,  nomical occurrence in India—which
            Dr. Shashi Tharoor, George Mathew,  in turn ignites a reexamination of In-
            Lord Meghnad Desai, Rev. Victor   dia’s role in the world, and her eter-
            Lobo, Rev. Father Thomas V. Kun-  nal/everlasting (Sanatan) message of
            nukal, Dr. Navin Mehta, Farokh En-  unity in diversity.
            gineer, Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, Muzaf-  Even though the tumult has qui-                      Yakub Mathew with his book
            far Ali, Didi Krishna Kumari, Rakesh   etened down, millions have returned
            Kaul,  Ashi  Sonam  Choden  Dorji,  home and the waters lap on in all   pages of this book to relive the thrill   journeys. As is expressed so beautiful-
            Sadhvi Bhagwati Saraswati, Haji Syed   those  who  dipped  into  the  sangam.  of the event. For those such as myself,  ly by His Eminence Cardinal Oswald
            Salman Chisty, Swami Swaroopanan-  The pluralistic waters of the Maha-  who could not attend the event early   Gracias: “This book will help us listen
            da, Anupam Kher, Swami  Sarvapri-  kumbh are representative of the eter-  last year, reading the book is a reen-  more deeply---to the longings of our
            yananda, Dr. Subramanian Swamy,  nal seeking for the divine of various   actment of the ritual to experience its   own heart, to the silent music of cre-
            Mokshapriya, Suhel Seth, Yogmata   religious  voices  fired  by  the  single   excitement and energy. The book has   ation, and to the voice of the One who
            Keiko Aikawa, Radhe Jaggi, Barkha   current of—yearning for the tran-  done a great service immortalizing   speaks through both.”
            Dutt, and Ustad Hidayat Khan.     scendental. Water has no boundary, it   the Mahakumbh, making it tangible   Usha Akella, Austin-based poet, has
                Even technology played its  part   surges and flows, turns corners, and   for posterity. Finally, we grasp that
                                                                                                                   authored 11 books that include poetry
            in  the  2,750  AI  driven  CCTV  cam-  erodes hardened hearts. The Maha-  Prayagraj,  a  holy  site  of  pilgrimage   and spiritual musical dramas. She has
            eras monitoring the festivities as we   kumbh demands all masks and attire   like Mecca, Jerusalem or Kashi is the   been invited to numerous international
            are reminded by Amitabh Kant. Dr.  are surrendered to her waters, to find   human heart where we discover the   poetry festivals.
            Dinesh Singh creatively interprets the   a single skin underneath -- humanity.  reconciliation of all contradictions
            legendary River Saraswati as the flow   It is a purification rite that restores the   and  paradoxes.  Where  Love  finally   She is the founder of the decade-old
            of humanity itself. Dr. Achintya Mou-  truth underlying all human narratives.  is the beginning, remainder, and the   Matwaala (www.matwaala.com) that
            lick brilliantly perceives his surgical   Symbolically we can still dip in the   destination in all our inner and outer   amplifies South Asian diasporic poets

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