This is not just a festival unfolding in Kerala.
On the banks of the Bharathapuzha river, history is being rewritten, and a new religious claim is taking shape. It’s a story that is deeply political.
The organisers of the Mahamagham are calling it a revival of an ancient practice. The return of Mamankam, a centuries-old gathering once held on these banks.
The Mahamagham is also being branded as Kerala’s Kumbh Mela. The Kumbh Mela is a massive Hindu pilgrimage on sacred rivers, including the Ganga. A gathering that today carries not just religious meaning, but political symbolism. But here is where historians say the distortion begins.
The initial versions of the Mamankam were not like the Kumbh. From the 12th century onwards, it was a political, religious and ritualistic assembly where kingship was contested, power was displayed, and many communities, including Muslims, were part of its structure. The Mamankam then was not centred on holy dips or monastic hierarchies.
Today, that past is being retold in a different language.
Monks chant Vedic hymns. Lamps blaze over the river in evening aarti. Thousands gather for ritual bathing. And this is only the curtain raiser. A much larger Kumbh-style event is planned for 2028. Listen to how some participants describe it.
So what happens when a plural gathering from Kerala’s past is reintroduced as just a Hindu religious congregation? And that too in a district that has 70% Muslim population.
What exactly is being revived, and what is being reshaped? And what is unfolding on the ground here right now?
Let me explain.
Producer: Megha Mukundan, Script: Pooja Prasanna, Megha Mukundan, Reporting: Haritha Manav, Megha Mukundan, Camera: Ajay R, Megha Mukundan, Edit: Nikhil Sekhar ET
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