Urge to film Mahakumbh -- He quit job in Japan

Urge to film Mahakumbh -- He quit job in Japan
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

KUMBHNAGAR, JAN 11: He saw a film on Kumbh four months back and persuaded the TV company where he was a cameraman to make a documentary on it. But, his bosses were not impressed. He quit his job, packed his bags and came here for the Mahakumbh.

Munenori Ikegami of Japan does not regret his decision because the Kumbh mela is "huge...So vast, so big".

"I came just because I wanted to be here. I take pictures using my Sony handycam but that can't be changed into a documentary," says Ikegami in broken English, sipping tea at a dilapidated tea stall.

"I told all my friends about Kumbh mela. Many of them have come. But, it is difficult to trace them in this huge place," he says, patting his dishevelled hair.

"I've never seen such a big festival. Japan's biggest festival is Gion Maturi... Maturi means mela or festival. It is held in June-July in the old city of Kyoto, which is today Tokyo".

Asked if Gion Maturi is as big as the Kumbh, he shakes his head, "oh, no. No way. I've been to the millennium festival in South Africa. The aborigine fest in Australia, on around this time, too is neither as big as this."

So what is his plan after the fest? "I don't know, I lost my job. I'll have to get a job now. Then perhaps I'll make some money, plan making a film on Kumbh and come back for the next Mahakumbh mela 12 years from now."

That the next Mahakumbh mela is so far away does not seem to dissuade him.