Actor Chandan Roy Sanyal was in Lucknow for an event when he received an invitation from the organizers to visit the ongoing Maha Kumbh. He calls it ‘divine intervention’ that the trip came together so seamlessly. “Yeh sab cheezein apne aap ho jaati hain. Mujhe bulawa aaya, toh main aa gaya idhar!” he shares, recalling how he reached on February 10 and stayed for five days.

Experiencing the Kumbh for the first time, he was awestruck by the sheer scale of the event: “Millions of people were there. I was privileged because I got to fly in, was received at the airport, and stayed at a hotel near the ghat. But I saw countless people walking for miles, carrying their kids on their shoulders. It shows the depth of their faith.”

The recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh, which reportedly claimed over 30 lives, left many in shock. Expressing his sorrow, Chandan says, “It’s heartbreaking... I can’t even imagine.” However, he adds that the tragedy didn’t deter him from attending the Kumbh. “I wasn’t apprehensive about going there,” he clarifies.

Hailing from a deeply religious family, Chandan shares how spirituality has been a significant part of his life. “My mother is very religious, my father was too. I brought gangajal for my mother.”