A potter arranges traditional earthen oil lamps in an oven at a workshop ahead of the Navratri festival on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on September 11, 2022. (Photo by Sam Panthaky/AFP Photo)





Vendors sell decorative traditional footwears along a street ahead of the Navratri festival in Ahmedabad on September 18, 2022. (Photo by Sam Panthaky/AFP Photo)





A vendor sells decorative traditional turbans along a street ahead of the Navratri festival in Ahmedabad on September 18, 2022. (Photo by Sam Panthaky/AFP Photo)





A shopkeeper displays idols representing deities and characters from the Hindu mythology used as a decoration ahead of the Navaratri (nine nights) festival, in Chennai on September 20, 2021. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)





Women wearing traditional attire take a selfie as they practice the Garba, the traditional dance of Gujarat state, ahead of Navratri in Ahmedabad, India, Tuesday, September 20, 2022. The Hindu festival of Navratri, or nine nights, will begin Sept. 26. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)





Transgender women contestants wait backstage during the Miss Chennai Transwoman 2022 beauty pageant, in Chennai, India, 21 September 2022. Several transgender women from the state of Tamil Nadu take part in the Miss Chennai Transwoman 2022 beauty pageant. The final round will be held on 05 October 2022. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)





Samajwadi Party activists protest against the Gujarat Government in Mumbai, India, 22 September 2022. 11 convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment for the Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder case walked out of jail after Gujarat Government approved their remission application. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





College students perform during a flash mob as a tribute to the cultural diversity of India, at Mumbai Central railway station, in Mumbai, India on September 22, 2022. (Photo by Niharika Kulkarni/Reuters)





A man rides his cycle rickshaw, ferrying plants, through a waterlogged street as it rains in New Delhi, India, Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)





A macaque walks on a roof in Dharamshala, India, Thursday, September 22, 2022. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)





A worker sweeps the grass near the newly inaugurated central vista project during a rainfall in New Delhi in September 23, 2022. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)





A man rides his motorbike with his son on a flooded street after heavy rains in Gurugram, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India on September 23, 2022. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





People use umbrellas as they visit they newly inaugurated central vista project near India Gate during a rainfall in New Delhi in September 23, 2022. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)





A family walks past a flooded street as a car drives past after heavy rains in Gurugram, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India on September 23, 2022. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)





A workshop owner checks freshly-dyed “Kalawa threads”, a traditional sacred orange-yellow thread used in Hindu rituals, ahead of the Navratri festival at Lalgopalganj village some 45 kms from Allahabad on September 23, 2022. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)





Women mourn as they look at the body of their young neighbour Mohamed Usman, 15, who was killed by lightning on Friday at Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Saturday, September 24, 2022. Hazardous weather killed at least 36 people in northern India over the past 24 hours, including 12 who died after being struck by lightning, officials said as they warned of more heavy downpours in the coming days. Usman was walking on a roof when he was struck by lightning. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)





Hindu devotees perform the “Tarpan” ritual during Mahalaya prayers, also known as Pitru Paksha, at the Banganga water tank, in Mumbai, India, 25 September 2022. Mahalaya is observed seven days before the Hindu festival Durga Puja, with devotees offering prayers to pay obeisance to their deceased forefathers. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA/EFE)





A member of the Mishing tribe carries his catch after fishing in Janji river in upper Assam, east of Guwahati, India, Monday, September 26, 2022. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)





Devotees carry their children to honour Hindu god Hanuman as they pay respect on the occasion of “Langoor Mela” at the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar on September 26, 2022. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





Visitors watch waterproof Golu dolls displayed underwater inside a large fish tank as part of the celebrations during the Navratri festival, at the VGP Marine Kingdom in Chennai, India, 27 September 2022. Golu is the festive display of dolls and figurines in South India observed during the Navratri festival. The nine days long Navratri festival starts on 26 September 2022 and concludes on 05 October 2022. Hindus over the world will celebrate the Navratri or Durga Puja festival, which represents female power and the victory of good over evil. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)