Religious events at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati rivers attract more than 400 million people.

As India begins a six-week festival, tens of thousands of Hindus seek absolution from their sins in the icy waters of the confluence of holy rivers. Kumbh Mela.

Authorities expect the first bathing ceremony in the northern Uttar Pradesh city of Prayagraj to attract more than 2.5 million visitors on Monday.

This is followed by the “royal bath” on Tuesdays reserved for sadhus, which is believed to absolve them of their sins and gain salvation from the cycle of life and death.

“I’m very happy,” Surmila Devi, 45, told AFP. “To me, it’s like bathing in nectar.”

Also known as the Great Pitcher Festival, this religious event attracts more than 400 million visitors, including Indians and tourists.

According to the government, the last celebration at the site was the ‘ardh’ or half-pot mela in 2019, which attracted 240 million pilgrims.

Amid public warnings for people to walk in queues and not to stop anywhere, hordes of marchers headed to the confluence of the three holy rivers – the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mysterious invisible Saraswati. Waiting for sunrise.

They marched toward the water’s edge in the winter morning mist, chanting prayers such as “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Ganga Maiyya,” praising the Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Mother Ganga, who personify India’s holiest river, the Ganges. .

Hindu monks carry giant flags of their respective sects, while tractors are transformed into chariots for life-size statues of Hindu gods, accompanied by elephants, to roll behind them.

The Kumbh Mela originates from a Hindu tradition in which Lord Vishnu, known as the Guardian, recaptured a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality from the hands of a demon.

Four drops of nectar fell to the ground in the cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik during the 12-day celestial scramble that marked the festival It is held on a rotating basis every three years.

The Kumbh Mela, held every 12 years in this cycle, is prefixed with “maha” (great) because its timing makes it more auspicious and attracts the largest crowds.

“Best-in-Class” Security

Authorities have erected 150,000 tents to accommodate the pilgrims, who are expected to number about three times Russia’s population.

Indian police said they were “patrolling around the clock to ensure top-notch security at the event”.

Approximately 68,000 LED light poles have been erected so large that their bright lights can be seen from space.

Temperatures hovered around 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, but pilgrims said their faith meant their bathrooms were not freezing.

“Once you get in the water, you don’t even feel the cold,” devotee Chandrakant Nagve Patel, 56, told AFP. “I feel like I am one with God. one.”