Not everyone at the kumbha mela is a pilgrim. Brahmapal Singh is part of the civil police responsible for Sector 5-Triveni. Civil police have been sent here from all over Uttar Pradesh, the state in which Allahabad is situated, and Brahmapal is far from home. He is living in the police camp among the naga babas, vairagis, (types of swamis) and kalpavasis (pilgrims camped for the month) who are also camped in Sector 5. He bathes in the Ganga every morning, but didn’t take part in the ritual bath. He says it’s impossible to know how many people are here, he doesn’t even know how many are camped in his sector.

What is the most exciting this that has happened? He says all the excitement they’ve had so far is the Juloos, the procession of the akhadas (organizations of swamis) into the mela grounds and to the sangam for an official ritual bath. “The most remarkable thing is that there has been no dispute among the naga babas. This is a record.” The naga babas, noted for their nudity and provocative attitude, are notorious for quarreling with mela officials and other swamis over the order and timing of the ritual bath. According to Brahmapal Singh, this year careful consultation and dialogue among all parties have averted the violent clashes that marred melas in the past.

“The best thing about my job is chatting with all kinds of people,” Brahmapal says. Brahmapal knows of Swami Rama, the founder of the Himalayan Institute, and he has been to the hospital and college Swamiji build in Dehra Dun: “The medical college he founded is the best in the country. He was a good saint.”

While Brahmapal is maintaining law and order, Ratna keeps Sector 5 clean. He has come 600 kilometers to work at the mela as a trash collector. He will be here for a couple of months. He has a shy smile, and is simply dressed in a clean orange sweater, trousers, and chappels (sandals). From 4 am to 11 am and from 2 pm to 5 pm, he picks up trash on the packed sand of the water front in Sector 5. His implements are a curved spade and a basket. He takes the trash to collection barrels in the area. Most of the trash is paper or plastic he says. He accepts our peanut shells graciously. When asked if he would prefer that people take their trash to the barrels or put it on the ground so he can pick it up, he says simply, “It’s my job to pick up the trash.”

Ratna is a bit bashful with all the attention we are drawing, but not so the young man standing a few feet away. He is dressed as Hanuman, the Monkey God. A wrapped wire tail curves out behind him, and his bare chest and bare limbs are painted orange. In a gesture meant to emulate the mighty strength of Hanuman, he holds up his arm which is seemingly pierced through by an 8 inch steel blade. Is it really stuck through his forearm? Does it hurt? Is he tired of holding up his arm? Why has he done this? Does he intend to develop dispassion for the physical realm, and garner favor with the gods, or is he an enterprising entrepreneur imitating the exotic to garner favor of a different kind? He says nothing; he just holds his arm up.