Uttar Pradesh · Prayagraj
Two waters, one river
At Prayagraj the Ganga and the Yamuna meet. For a long way after, you can still see the line between them.
The Ganga
She comes down from the Himalaya carrying silt, pale and quick — the colour of the plains she feeds.
The Yamuna
She arrives deeper and darker, having passed through Braj, past Mathura and Vrindavan, Krishna’s country.
The Saraswati
Tradition says a third river, the Saraswati, joins them here unseen. That is why the meeting is called the Triveni — the place of three braids.
The Kumbh
Every twelve years the Kumbh Mela gathers people at the Sangam in their millions; every year, in the month of Magh, the Magh Mela comes on a smaller scale.
One thing to do
Ask the eldest person in your family whether they ever bathed at the Sangam — and what they remember of the water.