The Stars of Maha Kumbh Mela
How the world’s largest religious festival created celebrities out of everyone from a garland seller to a monk.
Monalisa Bhosle has never been to the Louvre. Yet, the 16-year-old garland seller’s long, black hair and hazel eyes have catapulted her to international fame for very similar reasons: people can’t stop looking at her. The young woman has found this stardom in one of the most unexpected and populous gatherings in the world: the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, a religious gathering that will likely draw 400 million people to one Indian city over 45 days.
Before the unassuming vendor could process the curiosity surrounding her, excited paparazzi, journalists, YouTubers, influencers, and the everyday man were trying to grab a selfie with her — even physically grabbing her to do so. But Bhosle isn’t the only star born at the Kumbh Mela. Far from it. There’s an IIT monk, a Russian baba, an influencer turned sadhvi, and even a Harry Potter lookalike.
As the Maha Kumbh Mela proceeds, there’s been heartbreak, death, celebrity, beauty, and one niggling thought. Has the world’s largest religious festival become more about spectacle than piety?