Nonprofit Research & Development Initiative
Practical AI Research
for the Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh Labs is a nonprofit R&D initiative under the FAN, Project NANDA, and Kumbhathon Innovation Foundation.We develop and study practical, open AI systems for the Kumbh Mela and large public gatherings.
Research & Development Initiatives
Projects developed at Kumbh Labs
We design open technology that addresses real challenges of navigation, multilingual assistance, and vendor connectivity in dense crowd environments.
KumbhDoot
Multilingual AI assistance for pilgrims, supporting voice-first interaction in Indian languages for transport, stays, ritual timings, and essential navigation.
KumbhBazaar
An AI-assisted marketplace connecting pilgrims with local vendors and service providers, enabling fair discovery for small merchants without centralized platform fees.
Future Projects
Exploratory research initiatives focused on offline crowd mesh coordination, accessibility tools for senior citizens, and open public digital infrastructure.
The Gathering
Serving pilgrims at high-density scale.
The Nashik Simhastha Kumbh Mela brings tens of millions of pilgrims together along the Godavari River. A single centralized helpdesk cannot address everyone simultaneously across dozens of languages and dialects. Kumbh Labs investigates how decentralized, voice-first personal agents (Doots) can provide accurate information and connect visitors directly with essential services.
One pilgrim. One Doot.
In Indian tradition, a Doot is a trusted messenger. Kumbh Labs studies how personal AI assistance can help visitors navigate four essential dimensions of the pilgrimage:
- Getting there
Trains, bus routes, arrival nodes, and transport schedules.
- Staying
Shelters, pilgrim centers, essential amenities, and local stays.
- The pilgrimage
Snan schedules, ghat routes, temple queues, and crowd directions.
- In your language
Spoken answers in Hindi, Marathi, and other Indian languages.
Collaborative Community
“Kumbh Labs works with a growing community of researchers, volunteers, advisors, and independent organizations. Further collaborations will be acknowledged as they develop.”
FIELD ARCHIVE
Research and field history in Nashik
Documenting over a decade of community innovation, student workshops, and technical exploration beginning with the 2015 Kumbhathon.
Historical documentation and publications from past field sprints.
View news & archival coverage →People
Advisors and researchers.
Dr. Ramesh Raskar
Founding Chair / Advisor
Professor at MIT Media Lab and Advisor
Chris Pease
Advisor
FAN
Pradyumna Chari
Postdoctoral Associate
MIT Media Lab
Rekha Singhal
Research & Data Architecture
TCS
Saurabh Sakalkar
Research Scientist
Project NANDA
Mahesh Lambe
Scientific Advisor
Project NANDA
Ankur Shinde
Core Contributor
Project NANDA
Yash More
Core Contributor
Kumbhathon Innovation Foundation
Fundraising
Support our nonprofit research initiative
Kumbh Labs is an open initiative of researchers, students, and community volunteers. Your donations directly support open-source software development, field studies in Nashik, multilingual models, prototype deployments, and local community workshops.
Project NANDA
Project NANDA builds open technology enabling AI agents to discover, communicate, and coordinate across independent platforms. It serves as the primary technical foundation for Kumbh Labs research prototypes.
Foundation for Agentic Networks (FAN)
The Foundation for Agentic Networks is a nonprofit supporting open, decentralized agent ecosystems, research, and technical education worldwide.
Kumbhathon Innovation Foundation
Kumbhathon Innovation Foundation is a nonprofit ecosystem pioneering grassroots tech innovation, academic research, and public-private collaboration since the 2015 Kumbh Mela.