February 26, 2021
PRAYAGRAJ, INDIA (AP) — Millions of people have joined a 45-day bathing festival in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, where devotees take a dip at Sangam, the confluence of several rivers. There, they bathe on certain days considered to be auspicious in the belief that they will be cleansed of all sins.
Rows and rows of colourful tents, in which the devotees stay, line the sprawling festival site. Millions travel every year to the event, called Magh Mela, where pilgrims offer prayers and enter the waters where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
This period is called Kalpvas and the devotees who choose to stay for the entire time are known as Kalpvasis. They give up their daily routine and instead camp at the site, living on frugal meals and performing rituals.