New Delhi, Feb. 20 -- The millennia-old Kumbh Mela, a sacred show of religious piety and ritual bathing, commenced in the north Indian city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on January 13 Monday. The Mela is ceremoniously held at Sangam which in Sanskrit means confluence of things. The Prayagraj Sangam means the site where the three holy rivers of India- the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati - meet.

The organisers initially expected that 400-450 million pilgrims from India and beyond will throng the gathering. The six-and-a-half -weeks-long religious congregation, slated to run from January 13 to February 26, has got off to an excellent start. In the first three days itself, around 35 million devotees have already taken the dip. Exce...