Laurene Powell Jobs faces health issues at Maha Kumbh, recovering after 'Ganga snan'

OVERWHELMED by the huge crowds at the Maha Kumbh, Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was briefly indisposed but is recovering after 'Ganga snan' and rest.

The billionaire businesswoman-philanthropist has been given a new name, 'Kamla', by her guru Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri of the Niranjani Akhara.

"Laurene was briefly unwell on Monday but is feeling better after 'Ganga Snan' and rest," the government statement quoted Swami Kailashanand as saying.

Swami Kailashanand told PTI Videos that she faced some health issues due to the crowds.

He described his newest disciple as a "simple, virtuous, and humble" woman with a keen interest in Sanatan Dharma.

"She is free from ego and fully devoted to her guru," he said.

"All her questions revolve around Sanatan Dharma and she finds great joy and satisfaction in the answers," he added.

Mahant Ravindra Puri, chief of Panchayati Akhara Shri Niranjani, told PTI that Laurene's quest for spirituality brought her to the Maha Kumbh.

"She has a new name here, Kamla. She is very simple, soft and bereft of ego and is here as she was inspired by the timeless sanatani culture," said Puri, who is also the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP), the apex body of 13 monastic Hindu orders.

"The way she has conducted herself in the akhara makes it clear that despite being among the world's richest and most famous, she is sans all ego and does not show-off. Here she dresses simply and conducts herself gracefully," he added.

Barring a few short video clips of her that were shared by news outlets last week, Laurene has largely avoided the media at the world's largest religious gathering so far.

In the video clips that were shared online on Saturday, she is seen dressed in a peach-yellow salwar suit with a saffron stole and a Rudraksha necklace around her neck.

"She maintains a low profile. The day before yesterday (on Sunday), I asked her to come and sit on the dais during an event but she remained seated at the back," Puri said.

Puri, who is also the president of the Mansa Devi Mandir Trust, Haridwar, said Laurene has come to the Kumbh for the first time.

Asked how long she will be staying here, Puri said, "She came to our place, Niranjani Akahra, on Sunday and would be staying here for a few days." (PTI)