An estimated 30 million people bathed at the Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, India for the Maha Kumbh Mela on 10 February 2013.
The Allahabad Kumbh Mela is a mela held every 12 years at Prayag (Allahabad), India. The exact date is determined according to Hindu astrology: the Mela is held when Jupiter is in Taurus and the sun and the moon are in Capricorn.[1] The fair involves ritual bathing at Triveni Sangam, the meeting points of three rivers: the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Sarasvati. The last Allahabad Kumbh Mela took place in 2013; the next one is scheduled in 2025, with an Ardh Kumbh Mela scheduled in 2019.
Most people who march on the national mall do not typically make the entire 30-mile slog from the Dulles International Airport on foot. And it wasn’t just women marching. It was a march for women’s rights, which some of us men happen to support.
I’d like to see the impact to public transportation nationwide. In Los Angeles, the platforms of the newest rail line (Expo / Expo II) were so jammed that sheriffs were blocking eastbound access and by 8 a.m. people were boarding the westbound train, taking it 7+ miles west and squatting in the cars until it headed east again to get to DTLA. The march was to take place from Pershing Square to City Hall. Many of the estimated 750,000 people never left Pershing Square.
In Chicago, the entire front section (the equivalent of the first 3/4 of a block) was set aside for those needing assistance. With seats. And the only driving access point for drop-off. Several of the speakers (especially those with disabilities themselves) made a point of mentioning that it was a welcome improvement not usually seen at these sorts of events.
I’ve read and listened to more bemused and/or angry discussions regarding Trump & company’s antics about last week’s crowds than I have of today’s hiring freeze… or withdrawal from TPP… or his executive order barring any NGOs that perform abortions from receiving US aid – combined.
Kind of getting that fiddle-y feeling again. (As in “being played like one”)
There were significant closures and modifications to Metro service on Inauguration Day. On Saturday and Sunday, the Metro ran its normal weekend schedule.
Here’s the special page on the Metro site explaining planned service disruptions for Inauguration day.
I took my kids! They were 4 and (just barely) 2 at the time. We couldn’t even get close until the thing had ended.
I have a photo from afterward, of the line to get into L’Enfant Plaza Metro Station, stretching up that next block. I hiked them down to Southwest/Waterfront, which was empty, instead.
