Hi-tech tea stall at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 wows Harvard professor: ‘Eat your heart out, Starbucks’
The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj not only delighted the attendees but also increased the interest of the spectators. Mahindra Group Chairman and industry titan Anand Mahindra recently shared insights with Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna in a blog post.
Khanna is currently attending a mega event in Prayagraj. Mahindra has mentioned in his blog about Chai Point as he installed it on X.
“Harvard Business School Professor Tarun Khanna. Tarun Khanna is at the Maha Kumbh. His daily observations provide a fascinating insight into the events that took place there…
“The stores are also pop-up stores, Chai is made by state-of-the-art robots, best-in-class globally, consistent and high-quality, delivered at very low prices. Starbucks, take heart. Once again traditional Chai married with modern technology,” the blog read. .
Chai Point and its partner Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) are hoping to set a Guinness World Record for the highest number of cups in a single event. They hope to sell over 1 crore cups of tea at Maha Kumbi.
Every tea served in the shops will have milk from Nandini. As reported by the media, sweets and milkshakes from the same brand will also be offered.
In his paper, Professor Khanna says that the “city” is a marvel in itself as it was built on the banks of a regularly receding sacred river, only to end up being ecologically efficient.
He shared images of para-commandos armed with space-age surveillance infrastructure, like a NASA-style control room, surveillance and reconnaissance drones and deploying sensors for troubleshooting and security.
The Maha Kumbh Mela is an important Hindu event that occurs every 144 years. The event is expected to attract more than 40 million visitors this year. Maha Kumbh 2025 is being held in Prayagraj from January 13 to February 26.
The important bathing days during the festival are January 29, February 3, February 12 and February 26.