Devotees throng to Pakora Baba at Gangasagar Mela, get fried prasad
The Statesman | 17 January 2026
Gangasagar Mela, known for its sea of pilgrims, sacred dips and a colourful assembly of ascetics, has found an unlikely star this year ~ Pakora Baba. Amid chants, conch shells and clouds of incense, it is the aroma of freshly fried pakoras that has drawn the longest queues near Kapil Muni Temple.
From Kumbh to Gangasagar, India’s religious fairs have always been magnets for oddly named babas ~ IIT Baba, Computer Baba, Rabri Baba, Chabiwala Baba, Kantasaji Baba and even Air Force Baba. Adding himself to this ever-expanding spiritual directory is Pakora Baba, whose unique selling point is not sermons or miracles, but baskets full of hot, sugar-free pakoras given out as prasad. Clad like a traditional ascetic and surrounded by eager disciples, Pakora Baba, whose real name is Pulin Thakur from Uttar Pradesh, insists that the era of sweet prasad is over. “Sugar brings sugar,” he declares philosophically, while handing over a fistful of pakoras to devotees. “People are suffering from diabetes. Why increase their troubles with sweets?” His solution: deep-fried, savoury, vegetarian pakoras. Whether the pakoras cure diabetes or simply test medical logic is a matter of debate. What is undeniable is their popularity.
From Gangasagar to Kachuberia and even Lot 8, word of the Baba’s “odd yet addictive” prasad has spread faster than a viral reel. Devotees stand in long queues, chatting animatedly, phones in hand, recording videos to share online. Faith, it seems, now comes with filters and hashtags. Local residents say they have never seen a sadhu offer salty prasad at the mela before. “This is the first time,” laughed one pilgrim, “that a seer is more health-conscious than we are.” Another added: “In this cold weather hot pakoras make sense.”
The seer claims he has been travelling across religious sites for over 15 years but is visiting Gangasagar for the first time. This year, however, he has clearly made up for lost time. Accompanied by a few helpers who keep the pakoras frying round the clock, he ensures that no devotee leaves empty-handed. Medical professionals are less amused. Dr Parimal De said pakoras are hardly a remedy for diabetes. “Faith brings crowds,” he said, “but pakoras do not cure sugar.”
Still, logic takes a backseat at Gangasagar. Even as another seer nearby tries to attract attention by wrapping himself in blinking electric lights, Pakora Baba’s akhara remains packed with hundreds of devotees. At a mela, where belief meets spectacle, Pakora Baba has proved one thing ~ the fastest way to a devotee’s heart is through the stomach.