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OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal revealed that he had discussed Maha Kumbh with Elon Musk during a meeting at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas earlier this year.
Ritesh Agarwal is judging Shark Tank India season 4. (Photo Credit: Instagram)
Ritesh Agarwal, founder of OYO and Shark Tank India season 4 panellist, recently visited the Maha Kumbh Mela with his son, Ari, to take holy dip at the Triveni Sangam. Sharing a video from the event, he explained the importance of this year’s Kumbh and mentioned that it’s a rare event that is happening after 144 years. Ritesh also revealed that he had discussed the Kumbh with Elon Musk during a meeting at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas earlier this year, which was attended by several prominent Indian entrepreneurs. While he didn’t go into the details about his conversation with Musk, Ritesh shared his thoughts on the spiritual significance of the Kumbh with his followers.
Taking to Instagram, the entrepreneur said, “Namaste, I’m Ritesh here and I am with Ari today, We’ve both come out to Maha Kumbh Mela in 2025. This is a unique event which all my friends in India of course know about. We had the opportunity to talk about it with Elon Musk as well but if you don’t know yet, 600 million people over 60 Crore people have come out and Kumbh Mela literally means the mela or the union around the place of nectar. So it is our belief in Hinduism that here, in this period of time, if you come in for a Holi bath, you can get rid of all your sins and this year’s Kumbh Mela is special because this is happening for one time in 144 years.”
In the caption, Ritesh Agarwal mentioned, “Standing at Mahakumbh with Ary for the first time, I was overwhelmed by a flood of memories from my own first visit. I remember feeling so small, yet part of something so much bigger. Today, I stood beside him, hoping he finds his own answers, his own faith, and his own path. This isn’t just a tradition; it’s a legacy. A legacy of belief, hope, and the courage to dream.”
In a previous X post, Ritesh Agarwal had shared details from his meeting with Elon Musk in Texas. The OYO founder mentioned that Musk is very focused on advancing humanity, comparing his work with creating flying cars. During their conversation, Musk spoke about India’s ancient and great civilization and how the relationship between India and the US is moving in a positive direction with even more potential ahead. Musk also shared that he sometimes finds it hard to believe recent developments, making him feel like we might be living in a simulation.
Ritesh also revealed some interesting moments from the visit, including how SpaceX successfully caught a booster using robotic arms. Musk was particularly curious about the Kumbh Mela and the group was served a fully vegetarian meal at SpaceX, which Ritesh, as a vegetarian, enjoyed.
Had the opportunity to be among the Indian founders hosted by @Elonmusk led by @IGFupdates . Elon is by far doing the most to evolve human kind or as Peter Thiel says has us closest to getting flying cars. Some comments from Elon – A. India evokes the emotion of Ancient and… pic.twitter.com/IuHvnHV1YA
— Ritesh Agarwal (@riteshagar) January 17, 2025
Currently, Ritesh Agarwal is judging Shark Tank India season 4 alongside Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar and Vineeta Singh.
