India: Why Tens of Millions of Hindu Devotees Flock to the Kumbh Mela | TIME.com

India: Why Tens of Millions of Hindu Devotees Flock to the Kumbh Mela | TIME.com: "What’s billed as the largest single gathering of humanity is taking place right now in the northern Indian city of Allahabad. At the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and (mythical) Saraswati Rivers, as many as 100 million people will participate over the next month in an ancient Hindu festival known as the Kumbh Mela. The pilgrimage, which dates back millennia, occurs in 12-year cycles — in 2001, the Indian government estimated a staggering 70 million congregated by the Ganges’ banks to ritually bathe in its sacred waters."

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