Kumbh Mela (/ˌkʊm ˈmeɪlə/ or /ˌkʊm məˈlɑː/; Devanagari: कुम्भ मेला) is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Sangam, meeting place, of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati, at Prayag where bathing for purification from sin is considered especially auspicious. The festival is billed as the "biggest gathering on Earth"; in 2001 more than 40 million gathered on the busiest of its 55 days.
The current Maha Kumbh Mela began on 14 January, 2013 at Allahabad (Prayag). [10]. According to expectations more than 100 million people will attend the 2013 Kumbha mela.
After visiting the Kumbh Mela of 1895, Mark Twain wrote:
“It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites"
The offering of flowers with a candle is left floating on the waters of the Ganges. It is ethereal, the float of fragrance and light into eternity. ...
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