“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 surfer rides a wave at the snowy beach of Unstad, in Lofoten Island, Arctic Circle, on March 9, 2016. Surfers from all over the world comes to Lofoten island to surf in extrem conditions. Ocean temperature is 6-7 °C, air temperature around 0°C in spite of a weather very unstable. (Photo by Olivier Morin/AFP Photo)

Photographer and editor with Reuters for 22 years, Andrew Winning has died of brain cancer at the age of 49. Here: Elite special police run for cover after gunfire was heard from inside the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru, January 27, 1997. At the moment the shots were fired, police were parading past the residence in a show of force, and helicopters were flying above. Earlier, several armored personnel carriers rolled past the compound. Tupac Amaru rebels had seized the diplomatic compound December 17 and held 72 hostages. (Photo by Andrew Winning/Reuters)

Mount Whaleback iron ore mine 23°21’32.3”S, 119°40’40.1”E. The Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Roughly 98% of the world’s mined iron ore is used to make steel and is thus a significant component in the construction of buildings, automobiles, and appliances such as refrigerators. (Photo by Daily Overview/DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Company)

Singers “Elle & The Pocket Belles” attend day 3 “Ladies Day” of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on August 3, 2017 in Chichester, England. (Photo by David Hartley/PA Wire)

A dead crocodile is seen on Huangsha Seafood Market in Guangzhou, Guandong Province, China, 22 January 2018. Tsukiji Market of China or Huangsha Seafood Market is biggest one in Southern China and one of the biggest in China, as there are literally hundreds of different varieties of fish and seafood scattered throughout the market. (Photo by Aleksandar Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

It wasn’t exactly the Westminster Dog Show, but it was serious stuff. Photo: five-month-old Carly LeRolls Gottesman, at Pooch Prom at Downtown at the Gardens on Saturday, April 26, 2014. Carly was crowned the 2014 Pooch Prom queen. (Photo by Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post)

A colonly of honey bees swarms one of the traffic lights on 41st Street and Broadway on May 1st, 2024. Bees would frequest the area, even finding residence in the flowerbeds rooftop of WeWork offices at 1460 Broadway in prior seasons. (Photo by Derek French/Rex Features/Shutterstock)