A woman whose family members are trapped under rubble wails after a landslide washed away houses in Raigad district, western Maharashtra state, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. While some people are reported dead many others feared trapped under piles of debris. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

This watering hole is the social hub of the veldt; the scrubby grasslands that stretch across Namibia. The scorched earth supports sometimes fragile populations of magnificent wildlife – from endangered predators to plentiful herds of game. But these gentle giraffes and elephants need to be careful: lions don’t sleep at night, they hunt! The spectacular starscape above southern Africa is unchanged since explorers first mapped the continent. The photographer, Pietro Olivetta from Italy, said he had to be patient to capture these shots – but it was worth the wait. (Photo by Pietro Olivetta/Caters News)

One month-old endangered Bornean Orang Utan sleeps on his mother named Miri on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, in Singapore. The Singapore Zoo is renowned for its flagship animal, the Orang Utan, and exhibits both the endangered Bornean and critically endangered Sumatran sub-species in a social setting. It is also known for its efforts in promoting and educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation through its educational programs and breeding of these endangered species. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

“Himalayan Dog”. This dog just appeared out of nowhere and followed us for an entire week during our trekking trip in the Himalayan outback. He always used to sleep in front of our tent and guarded us in the nights. When I decided to get up at 4 a.m. to climb the next 5000 m peak for sunrise he accompanied me as well. On the top he was sitting for the entire 30 minutes on this place looking straight into the countryside. Photo location: Ladakh, India. (Photo and caption by Sebastian Wahlhuetter/National Geographic Photo Contest)

In this June 16, 2015 photo, an Indian coachman sleeps on his Victoria horse-drawn carriage outside a stable in Mumbai, India. Drivers of Mumbai's iconic horse-drawn carriages can't imagine not plying the roads pulling photo-snapping tourists atop their kitsch-covered chariots. Yet that time is coming, thanks to a court order calling such superfluous “joyrides” a form of animal cruelty and banning them in India's financial capital from June 2016. (Photo by Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

13-year-old Emmanuel Festo from Tanzania poses for a portrait with a plush toy that he says makes him feel safe at night and that he sleeps with, in New York's Staten Island, September 21, 2015. Albino body parts are highly valued in witchcraft and can fetch a high price. Superstition leads many to believe albino children are ghosts who bring bad luck. Some believe the limbs are more potent if the victims scream during amputation, according to a 2013 United Nations report. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

In this January 16, 2019, file photo, a homeless man sleeps on a median strip in New Delhi, India. In India, some 270 million people – nearly 22 percent of the country's population – live in poverty, making giveaways particularly attractive to voters. The Modi government in its interim budget in January announced farmers would be paid 6,000 rupees ($85) annually, benefiting as many as 120 million households and income tax relief to the middle class. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo/File)

“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)