IMAGE: Wishky Sharma, a member of the Kinnar Akhara congregation for transgender people, looks on outside her tent during the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. Photograph: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/ Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/ Rediff.com

Be ready to brave mammoth crowds (more than 40 crore people will be attending the festivities over the next few weeks) and the cold (temperatures dip till 7 degrees), but if you overcome that, the Maha Kumbh is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, is set to take place in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh from January 13 to February 26.

The Culture Ministry revealed that underwater drones, capable of diving up to 100 meters, are stationed at the Sangam area for Maha kumbh.

Over the coming 45 days, an estimated 400 million Hindus are expected to come together for Maha Kumbh Mela. The festival is held every 12 years but the "Maha" or grand Kumbh Mela takes place only every 144 years, "marking the 12th Kumbh Mela and a special celestial alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter", said The Guardian.

Swami Sivananda Baba is a Padma Shri recipient and yoga practitioner. He has attended every Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Nashik, Ujjain, and Haridwar for the past 100 years, said his disciple Sanjay Sarvajana.

It’s late evening in the city of Prayagraj and the roadside vendors selling snacks are packing up their wares to shut for the night.

By Saurabh Sharma PRAYAGRAJ, India (Reuters) -Naked Hindu ascetics smeared in holy ash charged into the waters of sacred rivers in India on Tuesday, part of a large crowd of 35 million devotees who took the holy dip on the second day of the Maha Kumbh Mela,

Millions of Hindu pilgrims gathered on Tuesday at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers to take part in the first holy bath of the Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious gathering.