A handout photo made available by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India shows Indian prime minister Narendra Modi performing rituals and Pooja (Hindu prayer) at the Parvati Kund in Uttarakhand, India, 12 September 2023. Prime minister Modi is on a visit to the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and is scheduled to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects. (Photo by India Press Information Bureau/EPA)





A drone view of damaged roads and houses that were washed away by flash floods in Naga-Namgor village, Sikkim, India on October 10, 2023. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)





Fans and wellwishers of Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan offer prayers at a temple on the occasion of his 81st birthday in Kolkata on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)





Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of “Lights fantastic”, of a night sky and a forest illuminated with fireflies at Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India, by Sriram Murali, from India, which has won the Behaviour: Invertebrates award at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday, October 10, 2023. (Photo by Sriram Murali/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)





Buddhist monks play drums during morning prayers at Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)





A performer takes part in a religious procession ahead of the “Agrasen Jayanti” festival, which celebrates the birth anniversary of legendary Hindu king Agrasen Maharaj, in Ajmer on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)





Labourers work beside the Olympic signage at the entrance of a venue ahead of the upcoming 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on OCtober 11, 2023. (Photo by Indranil Mukherjee/AFP Photo)





Cricket fans, Arun Haryani (Right) and Anil Advani (Left) paint their bodies in the Indian and Pakistani national flag colours, ahead of the match between India and Pakistan in the ICC World Cup, in Ahmedabad, India on October 11, 2023. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)





An artisan sprays color on a clay idol of a tiger, the animal that Hindu Goddess Durga rides on, ahead of Durga Puja festival in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, October 12, 2023. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)





Indian security personnel stand guard at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India, 13 October 2023. India will play against Pakistan on 14 October in a ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match at Narendra Modi Stadium. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA)





Aaron Indrekar celebrates his 13th birthday with a cricket World Cup theme cake at a restaurant in Ahmedabad, India on October 13, 2023. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)





Police detain people at a protest organised by different student and left-wing organisations in support of Palestinians in Gaza as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India on October 16, 2023. (Photo by Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters)





A vegetable vendor covers himself with polythene sheet as he waits for customers during rain in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, India, 16 October 2023. The local Meteorological Department said that rain lashed plains and light snowfall occurred at higher reaches of Kashmir. (Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA)





A young woman wearing traditional attire participates in a Garba dance performance during Navaratri festival celebrations in Mumbai, India, 16 October 2023. The word Navaratri literally means “nine nights” in Sanskrit. During Navaratri, nine forms of Durga (Hindu Mother Goddess) are worshiped. Navaratri is a festival of worship, dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights, the tenth day is commonly referred as Vijayadashami or Dussehra. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA)





LGBTQ community supporters and members hold hands as they wait for the Supreme Court verdict on petitions that seek the legalization of same-s*x marriage, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, October 17, 2023. Homosexuality has long carried a stigma in India’s traditional society, even though there has been a shift in attitudes toward same-s*x couples in recent years. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)





A LGBTQ+ community supporter sports a tattoo in Sanskrit that reads “Dharma protects those who protect it” after the Supreme Court refused to legalize same-s*x marriages, in New Delhi, Tuesday, October 17, 2023. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)





Players from Mumbai Cricket Club taking part in a simulation style practice match at the Oval Maidan in Mumbai, India on October 17, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Boyers/Reuters)





A band artist perform as Artist dressed as Lord Ram and Laxman take part in “Ram Barat” procession during Dussehra Festival celebration in Prayagraj on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. (Photo by Prabhat Kumar Verma/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Students gather at the Golden Temple for a special prayer for a drug-free Punjab, in Amritsar on October 18, 2023. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)





Artisans shift the head of an effigy of the Hindu demon King “Ravana” which is ritualistically burnt during the upcoming “Dussehra” festival in New Delhi on October 19, 2023. (Photo by Arun Sankar/AFP Photo)