Premiere of "Conversations at The Kumbh Mela"

Did you know Allahabad got its name from Akbar? Its said Akbar always drank the holy water of ganga and he named the Sangam of the three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvathi, Allahabad. River ganga was always considered holy in Hindu religion and Allahabad was called Prayag before it got its name Allahabad. The Kumbh Mela was held in Allahabad in 2013 and when I got an invite for the premiere of a documentary movie "Conversations at The Kumbh Mela", on the Kumbh Mela 2013 at Allahabad, I happily accepted the invitation.

All that comes to our mind when we hear about Kumbh Mela are the Naga babas(Saints) and its them whom most of the photographers or film-makers shoot. This documentary was different from those regular ones in the sense, they take you through the journey of the Kumbha Mela right from a saint narrating the story behind Kumbh Mela to the Melaadhikari speaking about the organization of the event. A conversation with the Security head who takes care of the security arrangements to the Medical head who speaks about the medical arrangements including the cleanliness and sanitation. 

Kumbh Mela an event, as said by one of the saints, which requires no advertisement or invitation and there are lots and lots of people flooding into the Mela from around the globe, whether to take a dip in the holy waters or for doing charity or shoot the people or just experience the positivity at the Mela. At an interaction with the makers of the movie after the Premiere, all they said was the experience has to be felt personally. There is lot to take home from the holy event, the event could rather be treated as an University, teaching you so much about the life and influencing you in one or the other way. Do check out the trailer of the movie. This year Kumbh Mela is held in Nasik from 14th July to 25th September, do plan your visit to Nasik during this time to soak yourself in the holiness and the positiveness of the event.

The team has even come with a set of books which sums up the whole event.

Vol 1 – Place, Time, Astronomy

This book speaks about why you must attend the Kumbh Mela and significance of being there for it.

Vol 2 – History, Mythology, Belief

The content of this book revolves entirely around historical facts about the Mela. It speaks widely about how everything started and how is it perceived in the form of beliefs.

Vol 3 – Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati

The three most important rivers associated with history of Hindu mythology has been given elaborate attention in this book. The snans of Kumbh Mela take place in their Sangam, therefore, they are the centre of the festival.

Vol 4 – Seva, Sadhana, Satsang

Philosophical side of Kumbh is explained descriptively over here. More importantly the question, “What is the essence of Kumbh?” is answered.

Vol 5 – Guru, Disciple, University

There is a lot to learn at Kumbh Mela, it is all about lessons of life and gain a humanistic view of the world. This book has focused upon this valuable aspect of the festival.

Vol 6 – Abstinence, Penance, Charity

A To-Do List for Kumbh Mela, this is precisely what the book comprises of. Yes, Penance and Abstinence are a part ‘things to do’ at the festival.

Vol 7 – Faith, Fate, Worship

Kumbh Mela is a festival to enrich your soul, you need to let your soul be completely engrossed in the festival for it to work on you. You need this book to know how to give yourself to Kumbh and let it’s wonders take over you!

Vol 8 – Services, Sellers, Spectacle

Last but not the least, the visual aspect of Kumbh Mela is the most sought after. Do you know they are the event managers of this festivals? This book will give you some fantastic tips from them to manage a festival as huge as this!

“I am unraveling the mysteries of Kumbh Mela by participating in the #TheKumbhMelaExperience activity at BlogAdda in association with Anugraha

MaxLife i-Genius Young Singing Star Grand Finale!!!

Date: 17 December, 2014

Venue: Taj Lands End, Bandra, Mumbai

Website: http://www.igenius.org

Every child is blessed with one or the other talent, an amazing vocal, theater skills, a hidden author or anything for that matter. Its we parents who need to recognize their hidden talent and nurture them to better their future. 

MaxLife Insurance has taken up such an initiative to recognize the hidden talents from across the country. i-Genius programme which was launched in 2010, has become a benchmark initiative in the country to recognize young talent. They have connected with over 20 lakh children across the country through their i-genius Scholarship, Young Authors Hunt programme and this year's Young Singing Stars. MaxLife Insurance along with leading music label Universal Music India, launched ‘i-genius Young Singing Stars’ programme, a nationwide search for young singing talent. This unique competition provided exciting platform for aspiring and talented young singing stars, giving children aged between 8- 15 years the opportunity to have their songs heard by industry professionals and a chance to have their own music album. Through a rigorous three phase selection process the panel of jury shortlisted many top performers. The video conferencing round resulted in the final short listing to top 10 who went through mentoring sessions with Salim Merchant and Shraddha Sharma. 

Few of we bloggers from Blogadda, were invited for the grand finale of the i-Genius Young Singing Star, which was held at Taj Lands End, in Mumbai. As always, I was there quite on time to the event, joined other bloggers. 

The event started off with mesmerizing performance by host for the evening Mansi Scott. Mr. Rajesh Sud CEO and Managing Director, Max Life Insurance and Ms Anisha Motwani, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, shared the journey of i-Genius YSS. How the platform was made available to all children who dream big and aspire to achieve greater heights. Out of 1.26 lakh entries, 9,000 plus entries were by under-privileged children as a result of a special inclusion drive conducted by Max Life in 7 cities. Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director - Universal Music Group and EMI South Asia said, it was the most amazing talent he had witnessed in his career. And those Young Singing Stars were truly the future of India and Universal & EMI were proud to be an integral part of the process of discovering and nurturing those future stars. He added, he was excited and eagerly waiting to start recording the albums and singles and introduce the Young Singing Stars to the world at large.

Salim Merchant and Shraddha Sharma performing for the evening

Then was the introduction and performances by the jury for the evening Shraddha Sharma, a Youtube superstar who has over million fans following her music on Youtube, and Salim Merchant, a leading composer and director who has directed over 40 movies.

The super talented i-Genius Stars

Panel of Jury Devraj Sanyal, MD - Universal Music Group and EMI South Asia, Salim Merchant, Music composer and director and Youtube SuperStar Shraddha Sharma

Followed by two rounds of performances by top 10 finalists who kept everyone engaged with their amazing vocal. To add to the melodies for the evening, were the performances by Kavitha Seth and Raga Trippin', a unique band of six, who perform non-instrumentally music, solely depending on the sounds and rhythm created by their voice. 

Mansi Scott and Kavitha Seth

Raga Trippin'

The Top 10 finalists

The event ended with the announcement of the two winners, Shrada Shreya amongst the seniors and Shivam Ahuja amongst the juniors who won an album contract, whilst the 8 finalists won 'single song' contract with Universal Music Group.