A devotee dressed as Hindu goddess Kali participates in a procession on the eve of Shivratri festival in Jammu, India, Tuesday, February 25, 2025. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)





Tribal youth perform Jhumur dance during a dance event attempting a world record in Guwahati, India, Monday, February 24, 2025. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)





A child dressed as Hindu deity Shiva asks for alms near Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, on the eve of Maha Shivaratri during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on February 25, 2025. (Photo by Punit Paranjpe/AFP Photo)





A view of heavy traffic jam on a flyover near Kumbh fair on February 25, 2025 in Allahabad, India. Kumbh Mela in 2025 is a Maha Kumbh, which is a significant Hindu festival celebrated once every 144 years at Prayagraj (Allahabad). Scheduled from January 13 to February 26, 2025, it attracts millions of devotees for ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers, marking a unique spiritual occasion with enhanced significance compared to regular Kumbh Mela. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)





A folk artist dressed as the Hindu God Lord Shiva performs during the Maha Shivratri celebrations at a temple in Bangalore, India, 26 February 2025. The festival,known as the great night of Lord Shiva, is celebrated by offering special prayers, and fasting. According to Hindu belief, Shivratri celebrates the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA)





This video grab from AFPTV video footage taken on February 26, 2025 shows an aerial view of pilgrims taking a holy dip in Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj. India's Kumbh Mela festival wraps up on February 26, with final ritual river bathing ceremonies ending six weeks of celebration that organisers say have been attended by hundreds of millions of devotees. (Photo by Jalees Andrabi/AFPTV via AFP Photo)





A man performs bike stunt during a religious procession of Hindu goddess Bhadrakali in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)





Hindu holy men perform rituals before bathing with ash at crematorium in Jhulasan village of Mehsana district of Gujarat state on Shivratri festival, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)





Hindu devotees take ritualistic dips at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati on Shivaratri festival on the final day of Maha Kumbh festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)





A Hindu holy man bathes with ash at crematorium in Jhulasan village of Mehsana district of Gujarat state on Shivratri festival, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)





A Hindu devotee offers prayers during Shivaratri festival at Sri Parvathi Jadala Ramalingeshwara Swamy Devastanamu, in Narketpally, India, Wednesday, February 26, 2025. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)





Labourers carry a sack of vegetables at a wholesale market of agricultural products in Kolkata on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)





Three laughing women taking a break from picking tea on a plantation on March 6, 2025. Glenburn Teas, a female-run tea enterprise in Darjeeling, has created 300 jobs for women from eight local villages and provides health care, crèche facilities and scholarships for their children. (Photo by Gavin Gough)





Indian Army cadets perform Kalaripayattu martial arts, during an activity display at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on March 7, 2025. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)





A Muslim devotee offers prayers during the holy month of Ramadan at the Shah-i-Hamdan shrine in Srinagar on March 6, 2025. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Photo)





An Indian Army cadet performs drills at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on March 7, 2025. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)





Cotton candy sellers wait for customers on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, following the conclusion of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





People sit under a tree at a beach in Mumbai on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)





People collect valuables from Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers after the end of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on March 7, 2025. The massive sanitation drive is underway since the Kumbh Mela festival – dubbed the largest congregation of humanity on earth – drew to a close on February 26 in the northern city of Prayagraj. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/AFP Photo)





Hindu devotees take part in the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, on March 9, 2025. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)