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.

While the Kumbh Mela festival is ordinarly held every three years, rotating between several holy cities on the banks of these rivers, the Maha Kumbh Mela occurs only once every 12 years. Maha means “great”, and the event attracts the most devotees because it is considered the most auspicious and holy in the cycle.

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.

India's Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, is set to be the world's largest gathering of humanity, with 400 million visitors expected at the six-week event that began this week in the northern city of Prayagraj.

As the world's largest spiritual gathering, Maha Kumbh Mela begins on Monday (Jan 13) in India's Prayagraj, over 15 million devotees took a holy dip on the first day to mark its beginning. The Kumbh Mela takes place every 12 years in India,