Hindu women perform a ritual known as Aarti around a Shivling (a symbol of Lord Shiva) on the last day of Jaya Parvati Vrat festival in Ahmedabad, India, July 10, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Sadhus take part in a religious roadshow (Peshwai) on December 14, 2024 in Allahabad, India. Kumbh Mela in 2025 is a Maha Kumbh, which is a significant Hindu festival celebrated once every 144 years at Prayagraj (Allahabad). Scheduled from January 13 to February 26, 2025, it attracts millions of devotees for ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers, marking a unique spiritual occasion with enhanced significance compared to regular Kumbh Mela. (Photo by Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)

A Nihang or Sikh warrior performs “Gatka”, an ancient form of Sikh martial arts, during a religious procession on the eve of the birth anniversary of the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on April 17, 2025. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A man dressed in the likeness of the Hindu deity Agni Kandakarnan performs during the Theyyam ritualistic dance festival on March 14, 2023 in Somwarpet, India. Theyyam is a colourful socioreligious dance form that is the amalgamation of ritual, vocal and instrumental music, dance, painting, and literature and its genesis can be traced to the coastal regions of the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

A Hindu devotee ululates as she holds a banana tree trunk after taking a dip in the waters of the Ganges river during a ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata, India, September 27, 2017. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A man bathes at a roadside in a market area after authorities in the capital ordered a weekend curfew, following the rise in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, in the old quarters of Delhi, India, January 8, 2022. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

College students dress in the guise of Hindu deities Krishna and Radha, ahead of Janmashtami festival, in Chennai on August 23, 2024. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP Photo)

Madras Engineers Group (MEG) soldiers perform “Kalaripayattu”, a traditional martial art from Kerala, during celebrations for the India's 74th Republic Day in Bengaluru on January 26, 2023. (Photo by Manjunath Kiran/AFP Photo)