“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 knight and his steed”. This picture was taken in a natural but controlled environment. There are pictures that can not be done in nature or that would imply a very high cost of both time and money, thats why photography workshops are run conducted at strategic locations and bringing EVERYONE who is interested, the basic notions (lighting, camera handling, composition, etc...) or the specimens, and afford them the opportunity to take pictures like this. Although controlled, this shot was not prepared at all, I was performing a workshop with the agalychnis callidryas treefrog from Costa Rica when the frog managed to jump to the branch where this huge titan was sleeping... I had my gear ready so I only had to change a few settings and shoot... the rest is history. (Photo and caption by Nicolas Reusens Boden (Sweden)/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

Indonesian Air Force soldiers from the Paskhas corps shout slogans during a rehearsal for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's military in Cilegon, Banten province, October 3, 2015. Indonesia will celebrate the anniversay of its military on October 5. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)

Indian girls in traditional attire pose for photographs as they practice the Garba, the traditional dance of Gujarat state, ahead of Navratri festival in Ahmadabad, India, Saturday, October 3, 2015. Navratri or nine night festival will begin on October 13. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)

A man dressed as a devil poses next to a grafitti of late rebel hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara in the indigenous community of Monimbo in Masaya, Nicaragua, October 16, 2015. People prepare to participate in the popular annual festival called "The Aguizotes" held on the last Friday of October, where residents dress up as characters from legends and folklore mythology of Nicaragua. (Photo by Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters)

A woman rides a horse through the biannual Stow Horse Fair in the town of Stow-on-the-Wold, southern England on October 24, 2019. The Stow Horse Fair has attracted Gypsy and Traveller people from all over the country to the Cotswold town every May and October since 1476. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

Edibles are displayed at Shango Cannabis shop on first day of legal recreational marijuana sales beginning at midnight in Portland, Oregon October 1, 2015. The sale of marijuana for recreational use began in Oregon on October 1, 2015 as it joined Washington state and Colorado in allowing the sale of a drug that remains illegal under U.S. federal law. (Photo by Steve Dipaola/Reuters)

Pedestrians stop to look at and photograph a DeLorean Motor Company DMC-12 customized to look identical to the car used in the film "Back to the Future Part II" and that will be part of a Lyft promotion in New York, October 21, 2015. In the 1989 movie, main character Marty McFly traveled to the future to October 21, 2015. (Photo by Lucas Jackson/Reuters)