Kumbh Mela: A Week at the Largest Religious Gathering in the World

Wikipedia Commons

Eric Johnson,writing for the Atlantic Magazine, describes a week that he spent at the Kumbh Mela Hindu festival last month. The festival happens every twelve years at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

Hindus believe that bathing in the water will wash away their sins and help bring salvation. But religion is not the only reason why this festival is so interesting.

What's amazing about Kumbh Mela is that it was the largest gathering of humans in history, with over 100,000,000 Hindus converging on the two rivers! You can read more about it in an earlier post.

This is a different story. The writer spent a week at the festival and even camped out in one of the tents in the temporary tent city near Allahabad. It's a great "inside" story if you are interested in learning more about the festival.