As the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 unfolds in Prayagraj, memories of my experience at Ujjain’s Simhasth Kumbh Mela in 2016 resurface. Battling scorching heat, I toured akhadas, met revered spiritual leaders,

India began on Monday its Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, which is expected to draw more than 400 million visitors to the northern city of Prayagraj over six weeks, making for the largest gathering of humanity in the world.

Vast crowds of Hindu pilgrims in India bathed in sacred waters as the Kumbh Mela festival opened on Monday, with organisers expecting 400 million people -- the world's largest gathering of humanity -- to assemble over six weeks.India is the world's most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people, and so is used to large crowds.

Our country has many pilgrimage sites, and Prayagraj is one of them. Prayagraj is also called the king of pilgrimages. Every 12 years, the Kumbh Mela is held in Prayagraj, which holds special significance in Hinduism.