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Actor Dominic West recalled the 2013 Mahakumbh in Prayag as “spotlessly clean,” even with what he described as more than 100 million people gathered there. By contrast, he jokingly remembered Glastonbury as “absolutely disgusting” and smelly, despite his estimate of 80,000 people. These are West’s personal recollections, not verified attendance figures or a measured comparison of the festivals’ sanitation.
What Dominic West recalled about the Kumbh Mela
In an interview with Hindustan Times, updated October 2, 2026, West said he visited the Mahakumbh at Prayag in 2013 with his friend James Mallinson, a Sanskrit scholar. The article says Mallinson was ordained as a mahant during the visit.
West characterized the gathering as involving more than 100 million people and remembered it as “spotlessly clean.” He also described the food and bathing customs he encountered: “There’s no meat, there’s no booze, and there’s no onions and garlic.” He added that people washed three times a day. These details reflect his account of the visit; the interview does not independently establish that they applied to every attendee or the entire event.
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West contrasted that memory with a later visit to Glastonbury, which he described as having 80,000 people and being “absolutely disgusting” with smells. Hindustan Times characterized the remark as tongue-in-cheek. The figure and judgment are West’s, not independently verified attendance or cleanliness data in the interview.
The contrast is therefore a personal anecdote about two different experiences, not an apples-to-apples festival assessment. The interview gives no standardized cleanliness measure, comparable crowd counts, or sanitation data that could establish which event was cleaner. Nor does it show that the food and bathing practices West described caused the difference he perceived.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why West was discussing the visit
The interview took place while West was discussing the series War. Hindustan Times reported that the series premiered on HBO and HBO Max on October 1, 2026, and was streaming on JioHotstar in India at the time of publication. Streaming availability can change by date and region.
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