Indigo CEO Pieter Elbers attended the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj over the weekend, joining millions of people at the world’s largest religious gathering. The 2025 Mahakumbh is especially significant, as it is taking place after 144 years, under a rare and highly auspicious astrological alignment. The last time this alignment occurred was in 1881, making the 2025 event a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both devotees and saints.
For Pieter Elbers, the Mahakumbh was also a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. He shared his thoughts in a LinkedIn post, expressing that the sheer scale of the gathering is beyond comprehension.
In his post, Elbers, CEO of low-cost airline Indigo, described the Mahakumbh as “the largest gathering of mankind on planet Earth” and highlighted the astonishing number of visitors this year—45 crore (450 million) people in just 45 days, which is larger than the entire population of the United States. “The sheer scale is impossible to grasp… it’s comparable to the population of Europe, and even larger than the USA,” he wrote.
Elbers, 54, visited the Mahakumbh Mela on January 26, during India’s Republic Day celebrations. While he attempted to capture the experience through words and photographs, he mentioned that nothing could truly convey the energy of the place. “This weekend, on Republic Day, I was at the Maha Kumbh Mela, celebrating the confluence of India’s culture, spirituality, and heritage,” he wrote.
In his post, Elbers also mentioned taking a dip in the Sangam at 5 a.m., finding a moment of peace amidst the overwhelming crowds. The Sangam is the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
