AP PHOTOS: The Hindu festival attracts a lot of river bathers
De RAJESH KUMAR SINGH
PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) – Millions have joined a 45-day Hindu bathing festival in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, where followers bathe at Sangam, the sacred confluence of several rivers. There, they bathe on certain days considered to be auspicious in the belief that they will be cleansed from all sin.
The rows and rows of colorful tents, in which the followers sit, lined up on the large site of the festival. Millions of Hindus travel to the event every year, called Magh Mela, where pilgrims offer prayers and enter the holy waters where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
In Hinduism, this period is called Kalpvas, and the followers who choose to stay all the time are known as Kalpvasis. They give up their daily routine and instead camp on the spot, living on frugal meals and performing rituals.
Virender Kumar Shukla, a devotee of Kalpvasi, participates for the fifth time. He said he hoped by offering prayers to “find a place in heaven” and win “a better rebirth.”
Authorities took months to build what appears to be a city with temporary tents on the river banks. Police are patrolling the area and floating bridges have been built to help people cross the river. The boats carry pilgrims from the Yamuna shore to Sangam, where they bathe in the holy water and offer their prayers.
The festival is taking place even though COVID-19 cases in some parts of the country are on the rise after months of steady decline. India has confirmed 11 million cases and more than 150,000 deaths.
Health officials told local media that they had tested tens of thousands of pilgrims for the virus since the festival began on January 14. It will end on February 27.