Vision of Faith: Eye camp at India’s Kumbh Mela to light up lives

By Hugo Barcia

Prayagraj, India, Jan 24 (EFE).- A unique initiative at the world’s largest gathering of Kumbh Mela is transforming the festival into a beacon of hope for India’s visually impaired, offering pilgrims a chance to donate their eyes and receive free glasses in a bid to combat blindness for millions.

Spanning four hectares, the camp brings together doctors and volunteers from across India to encourage pilgrims, who traditionally attend the festival to cleanse their sins with a sacred bath, to contribute to this life-changing cause.

“There are 216 people working here from different hospitals,” said Kamlakant Pandey, vice president of the charity organization Saksham, which is spearheading the initiative.

In 2019, a similar camp at Prayagraj during the Ardh Kumbh festival, a smaller event held every six years, ed over 11,000 eye donors from among 240 million pilgrims.

With this year’s Kumbh Mela expected to attract 450 million people, the largest gathering in human history, the organizers aim to sur that figure.

A Second Life for Sight Among the ed donors are two dozen teenagers from a gurukul, a traditional religious boarding school, led by their teacher, Viyendranath Gupta. “Eyes are a prime organ of the body. Thats why our eyes can be helpful for others,” Gupta said, explaining his motivation for bringing the students.

Dressed in orange robes, the students took turns filling out consent forms, guided by their teacher and his assistant. The data will be shared with eye banks, enabling relatives to authorities for donation when the donors away.

Free Glasses for Devotees

However, the camp’s most popular feature is the free eye examinations and glasses. “Most devotees come for the free glasses,” itted Aditya Chaubey, a volunteer at the camp.

Patients queue at a gallery where a team of 40 ophthalmologists equipped with advanced instruments examines them. After ing at the counter, they proceed to receive prescription glasses.

One beneficiary, elderly pilgrim Mitlesh Mishra, came to Prayagraj to bathe at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers, only learning about the eye camp upon arrival.

“A person who comes as a devotee, he comes to check his eyes first,” said S. Rajagopalan, director of Sensespharma, the main er of the initiative, adding the process takes about an hour, and glasses can be prepared in just 15 minutes.

Aiming for a Guinness Record The organizers hope to examine 500,000 patients and distribute 300,000 glasses, setting a Guinness World Record. However, initial turnout has been slow, with just 10,000 tests and a few thousand glasses distributed in the first five days.

Delays in service might be a factor. While the official estimate claims an hour-long process, some patients, like Pritika Khandewal, reported waiting up to three hours for their glasses. “The glasses will help me read better, but the wait was exhausting,” she said with a faint smile.

As the crowds grow, dozens of devotees remain seated, waiting for their turn to experience the “longest 15 minutes” of their lives. EFE

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