A Nepalese girl in traditional attire takes part in Kumari Puja, a mass worship ceremony for preteen girls, in Kathmandu, Nepal on September 27, 2023. In Nepal, Kumari Puja is the tradition of selecting a Kumari, usually a preadolescent girl, to worship symbolically as a goddess. More than hundred girls under the age of nine from across the country gathered for the mass worship. Performing Kumari Puja for three continuous years is believed to protect the girls from diseases throughout their entire life. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

Sri Lanka officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in the northern Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest.

A mouse rides on the back of a frog in floodwaters in the northern Indian city Lucknow June 30, 2006. (Photo by Pawan Kumar/Reuters)

A roadside currency exchange vendor sorts Indian currency notes at his stall in Agartala, India, December 6, 2016. (Photo by Jayanta Dey/Reuters)

Afghan men work in a small sweets factory in Kabul, Afghanistan January 5, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Rockhopper penguins live up to their name as they navigate the rugged coastline of Marion Island in the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak)

An Indian woman smeared in colors dances during Holi festival in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

Children of Indian laborers play on make-shift swings in Amritsar, India, May 12, 2015. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)