A woman dressed in traditional attire participates in a procession to mark Gudi Padwa or the Marathi New Year in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)
A rag picker carries recyclable materials amid cows and greater adjutant storks at a disposal site in Boragaon on the outskirts of Guwahati on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Biju Boro/AFP Photo)
A model presents a creation by Indian designer Amit Aggarwal during the FDCI India Couture Week in New Delhi on July 28, 2024. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)
Varanasi is a city on the banks of the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, 320 kilometres (200 mi) southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It is holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the oldest in India.
A supporter of BJP dances during celebrations after learning of initial poll results outside the party headquarters in New Delhi, on May 16, 2014. (Photo by Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters)
A woman dressed in the style of a Hindu goddess keeps her face partially covered for a ritual during Maha Shivaratri celebrations on March 12, 2021 in Kaveripattinam, India. Maha Shivaratri is a major Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god, Shiva. The festival is observed with chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating to overcome “darkness and ignorance” in life. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)