“«The Red Detachment of Women» (simplified Chinese: 红色娘子军) is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964. It is perhaps best known in the West as the ballet performed for U.S. President Richard Nixon on his visit to China in February 1972. Adapted from the earlier film of the same title under the personal direction of Zhou Enlai, which in turn adapted from the novel by Liang Xin, it depicts the liberation of a peasant girl in Hainan Island and her rise in the Chinese Communist Party”.

Ravi Nath poses for a photograph with a cobra snake in Jogi Dera (Snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India November 10, 2016. An ancient tribe of snake charmers, known as Saperas, have thrived over the generations by catching venomous snakes and making them dance to their music. Snakes are revered by Hindus in India and snake charmers are considered the followers of Lord Shiva, the blue-skinned Hindu god who is usually portrayed wearing a king cobra around his neck. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

“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)

A man from the Dani tribe cuts the head of a pig after cooked by traditional way which is use burned hot stones at Obia Village on August 9, 2014 in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. The stone-age Dani tribe live a traditional existence in the Baliem Valley, which is situated 1600 metres above sea level in the heart of the Cyclops Mountains. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

Leon Samson, 24-year-old showman, grimaces as an automobile is driven across his chest at Perth, Australia on October 9, 1960. Samson said the towel on his chest is to prevent the wheel from tearing his flesh. (Photo by AP Photo)

An art installation formed with milk churns, made by land art artist Gerard Benoit a la Guillaume, is seen at the Chenau de Mayen in the resort of Leysin, Switzerland August 7, 2015. More than 80 milk churns were placed between the Tour d'Ai and the Tour de Mayen summits at an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,561 feet) above sea level under the direction of the artist, to be photographed for his ongoing art project entitled “Milk churns without borders”. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

Mary McHugh mourns her slain fiance Sgt. James Regan at “Section 60” of the Arlington National Cemetery May 27, 2007. Regan, a US Army Ranger, was killed by an IED explosion in Iraq. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Russian pop art photographer Sergey Chilikov captures a nation liberated from the social oppression of late-era Soviet rule – at parties, in the streets, and bouncing high. His exhibition, Photoprovocations, will be at Photo London, 19-22 May. Here: Yoshkar-Ola, Matrosova Street (1995). (Photo by Sergey Chilikov)