“Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges river. The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places (Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik). The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 “Purna Kumbh Melas”, or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.

The last Ardh Kumbh Mela was held over a period of 45 days beginning in January 2007, more than 70 million Hindu pilgrims took part in the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Prayag, and on January 15, the most auspicious day of the festival of Makar Sankranti, more than 5 million participated. The previous Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, was attended by around 60 million people, making it at the time the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Sadhus (holy men) smoke at their camp near the ritual site at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival (Half Pitcher festival) January 18, 2007 in Allahabad, India. Millions of Hindu pilgrims have flocked to the largest religious gathering in the world which lasts for 45 days in northern India. The festival commemorates the mythical conflict between gods and demons over a pitcher filled with the “nectar of immortality”. Devotees believe that taking a holy dip in the Ganges at this time washes away their sins and paves the path to salvation. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

On September 1, 2004, Chechen militants stormed an elementary school in the town of Beslan in the Russian republic of North Ossetia. They took 1,100 teachers, children, and their relatives hostage, demanding the withdrawal of federal forces from Chechnya as a condition for their release. On September 3, 2004, Russian security forces stormed the building, resulting in a battle in which more than 330 hostages died, including 186 children. Here: A man assists two young hostages who managed to escape from the school building after special forces entered the school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Friday 03 September 2004. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA)

Twenty-one years after Kate Moss’s Calvin Klein debut, her little sister Lottie, 16, has made hers. Earlier this year, Lottie was signed to Moss’s agency, Storm Models. She then made her modelling debut in January, starring in her first fashion shoot for glossy magazine Dazed & Confused, followed by other appearances in Teen Vogue. Now, she’s back as the face and body of Calvin Klein Jeans x mytheresa.com The Re-Issue Project, an exclusive capsule collection of limited iconic denim pieces, which will only be sold on online retailer Mytheresa from 15 July. (Photo by Michael Avedon)

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Brandy Shelton of Greensboro, North Carolina, “twerks” for a group of bikers on Ocean Boulevard during the 2015 Atlantic Beach Memorial Day BikeFest in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina May 22, 2015. After three people were killed and seven wounded in shootings during 2014 Bikefest, State officials called for an end to the event that draws thousands to the family-friendly beach town.Their efforts were unsuccessful. Bikers returned to Myrtle Beach – just a week after a bloody motorcycle gang shootout in Waco, Texas. But this time authorities are more prepared, with dozens of new surveillance cameras and a police force three times the size of last year's. (Photo by Randall Hill/Reuters)

These are the explosive images of some of the world's most ASH-stonishing volcanic eruptions. Spectacular snaps capture lava spewing down the side of Kilauea, ash spitting from craters and plumes of smoke rising thousands of feet in the air. Russian non-profit AirPano travel the globe taking the breath-taking panoramic images, compiled in this series displaying their most stunning volcanic shoots. Included in the set – which spans four continents – are images from across the United States, Iceland, Russia, Ethiopia and Indonesia. To capture the 360-degree images, AirPano photographers spend around two hours in a helicopter, sending out drones to capture the action below. Here: Volcano Plosky Tolbachik, Kamchatcka, Russia. (Photo by Airpano/Caters News)