An Indian artists uses sparkles to decorate statues of the Hindu god Lord Ganesh ahead of the forthcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival at a workshop in Hyderabad on August 29, 2016. The statues are being prepared for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival a popular eleven-day long Hindu religious festival in India which will be celebrated from September 5 to 15. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)

Baby giraffe of Niger (Giraffa Camelopardalis) “Kenai” (R), born on August 25, 2016, kisses his mother “Dioni” on August 31, 2016 at the zoo of La Fleche, northwestern France. (Photo by Jean-Francois Monier/AFP Photo)

A picture made available 26 April 2016 shows a tiger playing in the water with a trainer nicknamed “Super Tiger Man” at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, 24 April 2016. The site known in Thai as “Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno” has been the focus of a dispute with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) after the DNP asked in 2015 that the temple hands over its 147 tigers since it was not licensed to keep them. The temple has requested for a zoo license according to its managing director. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

A tea garden worker plucks tea leaves inside Aideobarie Tea Estate in Jorhat in Assam, India, April 21, 2015. Unrest is brewing among Assam's so-called Tea Tribes as changing weather patterns upset the economics of the industry. Scientists say climate change is to blame for uneven rainfall that is cutting yields and lifting costs for tea firms. (Photo by Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

Filipinos wade through floodwaters along a road in Manila, Philippines, 22 August 2025. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on 22 August raised its alert level and warned residents of flooding in low-lying areas and landslides in mountainous communities brought by a storm. The government weather bureau said a Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 01 is raised over 17 areas due to Tropical Depression “Isang”, which made landfall over the Aurora province. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

Joseph's Amazing Racing Pigs entertain the crowds at the Gillingham And Shaftesbury Spring Countryside Show, on June 09, 2024 in Shaftesbury, England. The countryside show celebrates Dorset's rural life, traditions and culture. Initially set to be the first countryside show of Dorset's rural calendar but now featuring near the end of Spring after a postponement due to a waterlogged showground. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

“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 protester clashes with a police officer in Athens' central Syntagma (Constitution) Square in this June 15, 2011 file photo. Greece triggered the regional financial crisis in 2009 when a far higher budget deficit than previously calculated emerged. The collapse of talks with creditors in Paris last November set off a month-long sequence of events leading to elections this week and proving Greece is still the region's weak link. The vote is expected to be won by Syriza, a far-left party opposed to the bailout, worrying investors and creditors alike. (Photo by Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)