This might come as a surprise to many readers. But, this is indeed the very first book on Magh Mela. As of now, the only book relevant to Magh Mela that is available in the market is a reproduction of the chapter on Magh Mahatmaya appearing in Padma Purana. But, that is purely mythological in content and does not deal with many aspects of the Magh Mela as it plays out in Allahabad.  
Everybody has heard of Kumbh Mela. But, how many of us have heard of Magh Mela? Does it surprise you to learn that Kumbh Mela is nothing but Magh Mela that is celebrated every twelfth year and Ardh Kumbh is nothing but the sixth Magh Mela celebrated between two Kumbh Melas? In other words, a mini version of the Kumbh Mela is celebrated in Allahabad year after year in the form of Magh Mela which goes almost unnoticed and unreported outside of Allahabad and Uttar Pradesh.
Magh Mela is an incredible annual phenomenon in Allahabad (Prayag) from time immemorial. It is a monthlong Hindu festival that is celebrated in the month of Magh at Sangam or the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati.  Magh Mela is marked by (snan) ritual bathing and taking up temporary residence near Sangam in the month Magh and leading an austere life devoted to prayers and rituals (kalpavas) according to their vows.
The month of Magh begins with Paush Purnima and ends 
with Magh Purnima. But, the Magh Mela begins on Makkar Sankranti or Paush Purnima (whichever is earlier) and ends with Maha Shivaratri because of administrative reasons.  
Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity of Allahabad as well as the month of Magh which is considered to be the most auspicious month for Hindus.  Allahabad is also known as Tirthraj Prayag. In other words, Allahabad is the king of pilgrimage sites for Hindus.  
Separate chapters are devoted to the most auspicious months 
of the Hindu calendar in the Puranas in the form of Vaishak Mahatmaya, Kartik Mahatmaya and Magh Mahatmaya explaining the significance of each month.  
The most important ritual 
for Vaishak is charity (daan). Similarly, the main ritual for Kartik is offerings in the form of earthen lamps (deep daan); and, the main ritual for Magh is ritual bathing (snan). 
Therefore, Magh Mela is essentially a bathing festival coupled with kalpavas. And, Tirthraj Prayag is the sacred land that has been designated for Magh Mela by Hindu scriptures.  That is the secret of Magh Mela.

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Contents

Preface  —Pgs. 5

Acknowledgement  —Pgs. 9

1. A Month-Long Festival Called Magh Mela  —Pgs. 15

2. The Significance of the Month of Magh  —Pgs. 20

3. The Significance of Teerthraj Prayag  —Pgs. 23

4. Significance of Magh Snan in Prayag  —Pgs. 26

5. Duration of Magh Mela  —Pgs. 30

6. Fasts and Festivals at the Magh Mela  —Pgs. 33

7. Charities During the Magh Mela  —Pgs. 43

8. Kalpavas  —Pgs. 46

9. Rituals of Kalpavas  —Pgs. 50

10. Important Swamis and Babas  —Pgs. 53

11. Prominent Sects and Shivirs of Magh Mela  —Pgs. 55

12. Organisations that make Magh Mela Possible  —Pgs. 59

13. Innovations Galore  —Pgs. 64

14. How Floods Affect the Landscape of the Mela Area  —Pgs. 66

15. The Biodiversity in and around the Magh Mela  —Pgs. 70

16. Bird’s Eye view of Magh Mela  —Pgs. 73

17. Magh Mela—Then and Now  —Pgs. 74

18. Kumbh Mela vs Magh Mela  —Pgs. 78

19. From the Archives  —Pgs. 84

20. Magh Parv  —Pgs. 85

VINCENT VAN ROSS, the Author is a journalist, writer, columnist, blogger and poet based at New Delhi in India. He writes on national and international politics, defence, environment, travel, spirituality and scores of other topics. Apart from this, He dabbles in a little bit of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and humorous writings.
Vincent's articles and features have appeared in over a dozen newspapers and magazines in India including The Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Pioneer, The Tribune, Free Press Journal, The Statesman and Sahara Time. He wrote the ‘Musings’ column for the top Bangladesh newspaper ‘The Independent’ for several months in the recent past. A prolific blogger, he has blogged for major community blogging sites such as instablogs, wayn, nowpublic, siliconindia, foodindustryindia and speakingtree besides his own blog pages in wordpress and blogger. Vincent is also a renowned photographer and an art critic.

SANJAY KUMAR, the Photographer and co-author is a 2002 batch IAS officer of UP Cadre, currently posted at Lucknow as Special Secretary—Revenue Departent with additional charge of Relief Commissioner. He has served as District Magistrate and Collector of Allahabad, Balrampur, Sultanpur, Amroha, Sitapur, Gorakhpur, Mathura, Moradabad and Sonbhadra earlier. A passionate nature and wildlife enthusiast and photographer, Sanjay’s photographs and articles have appeared in a number of publications. He was acclaimed as young wildlife enthusiast by India Today in 2009. He has made significant contributions to environment and conservation of nature and wildlife.

RAKESH KUMAR SHUKLA, the Editor, is a passionate and self-driven professional, business and political personality from Allahabad. He has been member of Advisory Committee of Kumbh Mela for over a decade and is recipient of several national-international prestigious accolades like Ganga Ratna Award & Bharat Gaurav Award at British Parliament, UK. He has written a book, Maha Kumbh with internationally acclaimed photojournalist Padma Shri Raghu Rai. His rich experience in various industries, especially the healthcare sector, has resulted in the social-cultural upliftment of a wide section of society. A political analyst and an avid traveller, he is on jury board of ENBA national media awards and a regular columnist in the national media.