“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)

“The Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group, with an estimated 10–11 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. Their language, Zulu, is a Bantu language; more specifically, part of the Nguni subgroup. The Zulu Kingdom played a major role in South African history during the 19th and 20th centuries. Under apartheid, Zulu people were classed as third-class citizens and suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination. They remain today the most numerous ethnic group in South Africa, and now have equal rights along with all other citizens”. – Wikipedia.

Photo: A Zulu woman playing the piano while a group of others sit and listen (to put it briefly, Englishmen scoff over Zulu). South Africa, circa 1925. (Photo by General Photographic Agency)

Billy Robinson, from Galax, Va., rides Gentleman Jim during the Professional Bull Riders Buck Off, in New York's Madison Square Garden, Saturday, January 17, 2015. The top 35 bull riders compete during the PBR event, returning to New York for the ninth consecutive year. (Photo by Richard Drew/AP Photo)

An Afghan boy plays in the ruins of a house that at one point belonged to the 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar and Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 25, 2015. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)

In this photograph taken on February 18, 2016, Pakistani children ride on swings in the predominantly Pashtun Korangi District of Karachi. In a rundown district of Karachi, Rabia balks at a neighbour's proposal to vaccinate her children, demonstrating one of the biggest hurdles to eradicating polio in Pakistan by the end of the year: confused and frightened parents. (Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP Photo)

Marion (L) and Nikola (R), members of the Sport Saber League, pose with their light sabers in front of the Eiffel tower in Paris, France, November 26, 2015. Three "Star Wars" fans opened the French Academy of the Sport Saber League in September 2015 due to the increase interest for light saber fighting and the upcoming movie "The Force Awakens" which will premier in Paris, December 16th, two days before its worldwide official release. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

This photo taken on April 16, 2014 shows ethnic Kayan women wearing traditional clothes and bronze rings around tbeir neck in Panpet village, Demoso township in Kayah state, eastern Myanmar. Some ethnic Kayan women, also known as Padaung, begin wearing the bronze rings on their neck and legs from a young age. Usually they start wearing six to ten rings when they are five to ten-years-old and then they put on one more ring a year for years after then. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

Rascal, and her brother Petey, were abandoned as pups near the railroad tracks in Union County, Arkansas. She is a pit bull cross and approximately 6 months old, in Arkansas, United States. These canine portraits will make any dog lover's day – and they're helping to get sheltered pups adopted at the same time. Kind-hearted photographer Tammy Swarek came up with the idea of dressing up rescue dogs to draw attention to their stories and help potential owners personally connect with them. (Photo by Tammy Swarek/Barcroft Images)