Hindu festival draws crowds of bathers to rivers

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) – Millions of people have joined a 45-day Hindu bathing festival in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, where devotees take a dip in Sangam, the sacred confluence of several rivers. There they pray on certain days that are considered beneficial in the belief that they will be cleansed of all sins.

Rows and rows of colorful tents in which the fans live lie along the expansive festival grounds. Millions of Hindus travel annually to the event called Magh Mela, where pilgrims pray and enter the holy waters where the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.

In Hinduism this period is called Kalpvasis and the devotee who prefers to stay all the time is known as Kalpvasis. They abandon their daily routine and instead camp on the site, live according to frugal meals and perform rituals.

Virender Kumar Shukla, a fan of Kalpvasi, is attending for the fifth time. He said he hoped by praying to find a place in heaven and to earn a better rebirth.

Authorities took months to build a temporary tent city on the banks of the river. Police are patrolling the site and floating bridges have been built to help people from one side of the river to the other. Boats transport pilgrims from the banks of the Yamuna to the Sangam, where they bathe in the holy water and offer their prayers.

The festival is being held, although COVID-19 cases are rising in some parts of the country 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 27th.