For 'Fashion' director Madhur Bhandarkar , who was part of the Ganga Arti organized by Parmarth Niketan at the Ardh Kumbh in Prayagraj, visiting the mega fair and attending the arti was always on his wish list. "I am happy that I was able to fulfill what I wanted to do for a long time," said Bhandarkar, who was the Kumbh on Wednesday. "The dip in river Ganga was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The water was really cold but once I went inside the water, I forgot everything and I just savoured the experience," added the director.Madhur Bhandarkar performed the Ganga arti and also took a dip in the holy river (BCCL/ Pankaj Singh)The National Award winning director, who stayed for two days, explored the Kumbh Mela extensively. "I went to the various akharas, met the sadhus and gurus. In fact, I visited an akhara post-midnight and filmed certain things. The sights and sounds of the mela turned out to be really nice. It was serene, beautiful and blissful in Kumbh," he said.Madhur says there is a lot of change, in terms of people coming to Kumbh this time. "Earlier Kumbh was projected as more of a rural fair, with people from hinterland attending it more. But I was surprised to see a lot of people from the metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, being part of it. I met several of them here. The arrangements this time are marvellous. I would like to applaud the government, the security forces at Prayagraj and all those attached with Kumbh, on the way they have organized it which is just phenomenal. Recently I had gone to Israel and had made some friends there. Some of these Israeli musician friends, I also met here in Kumbh, as they have come to play during some of the events. There is a vast global presence of the Kumbh this time. You will find it everywhere on social media. I believe this is just the beginning, as there is more to come in future," he said.Kumbh is also every creative person’s delight, believes the Indu Sarkar director. "Kumbh has so many layers and stories to it which is interesting from the point of storytelling," he said.

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