India: Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival expected to attract 400 million pilgrims, begins

(AFP) Millions of people bathed in holy waters in northern India Monday at the start of the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, the world's largest congregation with an expected 400 million pilgrims in six weeks.

Before sunrise, the mob of worshippers waded in to wash their sins away in the cold waters where the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers supposedly converge with the mythical Sarasvati River, which appears in ancient scriptures.

Before dawn, pilgrims emerged on the banks of the rivers to begin bathing in the cold waters. "I feel enormous joy," said Surmila Devi, 45. "For me, it's like bathing in nectar."

"For a Hindu, it's an occasion you can't miss," said Reena Rai, a 38-year-old businesswoman from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, 600 miles from Prayagraj, where the rite is taking place.

The Hindu prime minister, Narendra Modi, described it as a "divine occasion" to bring together "countless numbers of people in a sacred confluence of faith, devotion and culture."

Held once every 12 years, this year’s edition, running through February 26, is being touted as one for the record books.

According to the government, the last religious celebrations held in 2019 in that city, formerly known as Allahabad, drew 240 million worshippers.

Organizers set up 150,000 toilets, 68,000 streetlights and a tent city on an area equivalent to two-thirds of Manhattan.