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For Rajasthan's Ranveer Singh, who arrived at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on 19 January, the holy '_snan'_ at the Maha Kumbh Mela had been nothing short of a series of
battles. It began with mortgaging his cow to raise sufficient funds for bringing his aging mother, wife Urmila, and a six-year-old child from Bikaner to Prayagraj. Upon arriving at the site,
he was greeted by a sea of floating heads, some with turbans, some without, many in ‘_ghunghat_’. He was instantly swallowed up by the crowd, which collectively decided where he had to go,
and bore him along. It was already chaotic and overcrowded when he arrived at the _snan_ site at midnight on _Mauni Amavasya. _The pushing and shoving stopped briefly, only to resume within
two hours as the break of dawn drew closer. "We could not do the ‘_snan_’. We will do it tomorrow,” he said. Though disappointed, Ranveer felt lucky at having survived the calamity that
struck on 29 January, when all hell broke loose for millions of devotees who had converged on the banks of the Ganges and the Yamuna, seeking a path to heaven. The predawn stampede killed
at least 30 people, according to official figures, left scores injured, and raised many difficult questions.