Last Updated:
Mahakumbh Mela 2025: Bhashini, the government’s AI-powered language platform, aims to bridge the linguistic divide for millions of pilgrims expected to pour into Prayagraj between January 13 and 26
The app is the part of the Narendra Modi government’s indigenous translator platform Bhashini. (PTI/File)
On a chilly, rain-soaked Christmas morning, when most of the offices work with skeletal stuff, here is one office that is abuzz with energy. A team of young IT professionals huddled over their computer screens, meticulously mapping the akhadas (locations for spiritual congregation) of Prayagraj — their locations, sects, histories, and routes — while integrating real-time navigation, ritualistic information, nearby accommodations, and cultural insights into the Kumbh Sahayak app.
The app is the part of the Narendra Modi government’s indigenous translator platform Bhashini and the location of the office is none other than the office of the Bhashini AI Translator at the CGO Complex in New Delhi. By the last week of December, the team added 450 new regional and vernacular glossaries related to the Kumbh Mela to its app to support the pilgrims.
The Mahakumbh Mela, scheduled between January 13 and 26, where millions converge for spiritual cleansing, has always been a spectacle steeped in multiple religious rituals, chants, and several age-old traditions.
For many devotees, related words and regional phrases — Akhada, Shahi Snan, Bhasma Arti — remain as puzzling as the river currents they revere. Here comes Bhashini, the government’s AI-powered language platform, which aims to bridge this linguistic divide. By curating a glossary of around 450 region-specific terms, Bhashini has transformed its Kumbh Sahayak app into a linguistic lifeline for pilgrims.
Details That Matter: Every Word, Every Pilgrim
While the team of young professionals has been working hard and is on the clock to add as many as words it can before the beginning of Kumbh Mela, Amitabh Nag, the CEO of Bhashini, has been constantly urging his team to engage deeply with locals and unearth new terms and traditions unique to the Mahakumbh Mela.
Nag, a lateral entrant into the government, stood apart from the archetype of a corporate leader. No plush corner office for him; instead, he is working shoulder-to-shoulder with his team, matching their pace and focus. His mission includes ensuring the app, launched just a month ago, becomes a seamless lifeline for pilgrims navigating the spiritual and logistical maze of the Kumbh.
“Every detail counts,” Nag instructs his team as they race against time to pack the app with richer features and a glossary steeped in the Kumbh heritage.
Amid the hum of laptops and the clatter of keyboards, tradition and technology are fused in real-time, setting the stage for a Mahakumbh experience like never before.
“There are several translator apps available, some of them are very prominent. But their ideology is ‘use at your own risk’. But we are a government platform, and we are responsible and accountable to our users. We are owning our work and our idea is to build a digital glossary, provide real-time updates through translation,” Nag told News18.
AI-Driven Pilgrim Support
Starting from decoding the significance of an akhada, to understanding the ritual of a Shahi Snan, or navigating the mela’s labyrinth of traditions, the Kumbh Sahayak app, powered by Bhashini, ensures that language is no longer a hurdle.
The 450-word glossary – which is enriched with cultural and spiritual explanations, navigation and several other related updates – provides a gateway for the devotees to immerse themselves fully in the event’s profound heritage. This initiative is a step forward to the government’s Digital India effort and is also about how technology can preserve and celebrate tradition, turning linguistic barriers and the complexity around it, into an opportunity for deeper engagement.
As the Mahakumbh prepares to host over 400 million devotees this month, Bhashini’s innovation stands as a symbol of linguistic inclusivity, blending the ancient with the modern in the heart of India’s most sacred gathering.
- Location :
Prayagraj, India
