Andrea Rossato, Italy. Professional; Candid. Children enjoy the simple pleasures of a seaside holiday. (Photo by Andrea Rossato/Sony World Photography Awards)

A boy makes his way on a bicycle along a flooded road near the Ganges River in Allahabad on August 23, 2022, as water levels rose following monsoon rainfalls. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

A member of a winter swimming club wears flippers during the celebration of Maslenitsa, also known as Pancake Week, a pagan holiday, marking the end of the winter, in Novosibirsk, Russia. (Photo by Alexandr Kryazhev/Sputnik/Profimedia)

A villager carries wood while a blackbuck runs on a field near Bhetnoi village in Ganjam District, in the Indian eastearn state of Odisha on May 20, 2018. Villagers of Ganjam district due to their traditional religious belief consider blackbucks as incarnations of Lord Vishnu and harbingers of rain. (Photo by Asit Kumar/AFP Photo)

A young fan plays a virtual reality game during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, August 29, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo)

A cat and a dog stray along a side street in Las Pinas city, Metro Manila, Philippines, 02 July 2023. A significant number of dogs and cats left wandering in streets could lead to potential health hazard due to rabies. Amidst Covid-19 pandemic, displaced pet owners who lost their job because their employers closed or lost business were forced to leave their animals in the city as they migrate elsewhere. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

“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)

From Tibetan monks playing basket ball with ice thawing high up in the Himalayas, to the pollution that hides behind the Taj Mahal, here’s pick from 60 exceptional environmental photographs, by photographers and filmmakers from 70 countries, that will go on show at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 29 June to 21 August. The winners will be announced on 28 June. Here: Gravel Workmen of Chittagong, Bangladesh, by Faisal Azim. Gravel workmen look through a glass window at a gravel-crushing yard in Chittagong. Full of dust and sand, it is an extremely unhealthy environment for working, but still hundreds of people work here for their livelihoods. (Photo by Faisal Azim/2016 Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year)