Oprah Won’t Attend Kumbh Mela

It seems unlikely Oprah will be attending the Kumbh Mela after all. We
heard back from Nicole Nichols, a spokeswoman for Oprah Winfrey's TV
network, who said Ms. Winfrey has no plan to come to India.

Oprah Winfrey is used to crowds.

Last year, when she made a star appearance at the Jaipur Literature
Festival, the event saw record crowds. Police barricaded the road
leading to the Diggi Palace hotel, where she was set to speak, while
masses of people pressed around sealed entrances to the venue. Some –
including one of our intrepid reporters– climbed over fences and
flower pots to sneak into the venue and catch a glimpse of her. Others
fled to its upper floors for a better view of the T.V. show host, and
to avoid a possible stampede.

Ms. Winfrey seemed used to that kind of attention. But is she so used
to crowds that she's willing to take on the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu
festival touted as the biggest gathering of people on the planet?

According to the Economic Times today, preparations are well underway
for her trip this month to Allahabad, the Indian city that hosts the
festival.

She'll be going there to tend to her spiritual growth, the paper
reported. "Many celebrities come here to demystify the exotica – Naga
Sadhus et al – but Oprah is coming purely for spiritual reasons," a
person apparently overseeing her visit was quoted in the paper as
saying.

At the Kumbh Mela, devotees dip in holy rivers, which they believe
cleanses their sins. (The big question: Will Ms. Winfrey take the
plunge in the murky waters?)

The Kumbh Mela is one of the few places in the world where Ms.
Winfrey's appearance wouldn't make much of a ripple.

Around 30 million religious pilgrims are flocking to Allahabad, in the
state of Uttar Pradesh, to attend the two-month long festival.

Despite long event planning and serious infrastructure – tens of
thousands of police officers, hundreds of doctors and 18 temporary
bridges – the crowds are intimidating. Relatives routinely lose each
other, and last week 36 people died in a stampede at the local railway
station.

Attending the festival may increase Ms. Winfrey's popularity in India,
which suffered a setback last summer after the airing of her India
special on her primetime series "Oprah's Next Chapter." Many found
the show caricaturized India and were offended when she noted that
Indians "still" eat with their hands.

Ms. Winfrey is not the only celebrity rumored to be attending the
Kumbh Mela. According to the Times of India, others include Hollywood
actor Richard Gere, filmmaker David Lynch and Beatles legend Paul
McCartney – though none of them have publicly confirmed this.

But security worries mean that high-profile guests may cancel. The
Dalai Lama called off his visit to the Kumbh Mela earlier this month,
the Hindu newspaper reported, and Congress Party President Sonia
Gandhi also cancelled her trip for that reason.

WSJ