Pavitra Nimbhorakar says that in all her 43 years, she had never received the kind of love and respect she did earlier this year during the 49 days of Ardh Kumbh Mela – India’s biggest spiritual festival and the largest gathering of human beings on the planet.

Held once every three years, Kumbh Mela moves between four Indian cities—Haridwar, Nashik, Ujjain, and Prayagraj (Allahabad)—all near the confluence of three rivers (Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati) It is at this confluence where, according to religious texts, the essence of immortality was spilled from an urn during a fight between gods and demons. An estimated 250 million devotees who attend the Kumbh believe that immersing themselves in the Ganges during the