Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Visual Threads of a Massive Ritual Tapestry
Prayagraj, India
Maha Kumbh Mela 2025
Visual threads of a massive ritual tapestry
- A seller of plastic toys and windmills walks around the Triveni Sangam area in the days leading up to when the space will fill with arriving pilgrims.
How to portray a gathering where millions of individual identities unite through a shared belief, in a place where the line between beginning and end becomes blurred, with no center or clear boundaries?
The Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious festival, took place in Prayagraj, India, over six weeks filled with dusty days and artificially lit nights. In 2025, according to Hindu astrology, the event will mark the end of a 12-year cycle, with an astral influence that makes it particularly auspicious. Additionally, occurring only once every 144 years, it is elevated to the much-anticipated ‘Maha Kumbh’—the greatest of the greats for many.
This vast spiritual declaration remains coherent despite the numerous practices and beliefs that coexist and intertwine simultaneously. Capturing the overwhelming scale and bustle of the event has been like trying to sip and blow at the same time from a steaming cup of chai, filled with sadhus and chants; also with pilgrims and lamps, and hijras and tents. And the omnipresent dust that bathed everything, like sacred water to every devotee.
My photo essay, distant from moments of lethargic ecstasy, is a claim to those liminal pauses that happen effortlessly between one event and the next. It is unknown where they begin or end, but the planetary wisdom whispers that they are part of something greater than themselves, something with its own spirit. Nothing particular happens, but they are vital stitches in the tapestry of the festival, helping it make sense and texture for itself, if not for us, and allowing the viewer to stay afloat without being consumed by its vastness.
- During the festival, the Ganges recedes, revealing a sandy riverbed in an area spanning 12 square kilometers. This includes the Triveni Sangam, along with zones for ritual baths, temples, and camps for Sadhus and pilgrims.
- Two young kids belonging to a music band, wearing colorful and festive party attire, ready to participate in a lively parade in the city of Prayagraj.
- A small group of Naga Sadhus crouched down, trying to light a chillum, the traditional smoking pipe commonly used by ascetics and filled with cannabis or ganja, which is considered part of their devotion and meditation, before the inaugural bathing parade begins on January 14th.
- Performers from the Kinnar Akhara chat before the start of the Pattabhishekam ceremony, the coronation and bestowing of religious titles within the community of transgender ascetics (Hijra Sadhus).
- A group of devotees and Sadhus sharing the start of the duni fire, a sacred flame central to these gatherings. The akhara camps serve as places for meditation, philosophical discussions, and brotherhood, where different religious groups share experiences, teach, and strengthen spiritual bonds.
- Workers fixing the installation of light posts to illuminate the Triveni Sangam area, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers converge, stretching over 12 kilometers.
- A woman, alongside her family members, folds clothing near the Ganga River. During the Kumbh Mela, many families camp along the shore, spending the night by the sacred confluence to partake in rituals and ceremonies at dawn and early morning.
- Pontoon bridges are made up of a series of watertight concrete boxes that are connected and anchored together to form a continuous structure, with the top surface serving as a roadway for traffic. They connect the two key sides of the event: the Sangam, the bathing area, and the Mela, the camping and akharas section.
- A shaved pilgrim prostrates near the Triveni Sangam before taking a sacred dip at dawn, symbolizing devotion, humility, and spiritual purification. In Hinduism, shaving the head represents shedding the ego, and the dip is believed to purify sins and bring one closer to moksha, the ultimate goal of spiritual liberation or freedom.
- A group of female visitors celebrates their presence at the Kinnar Akhara by dancing with joy. Their energy and enthusiasm reflect the spirituality and sisterhood that define this sacred gathering, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of them.
- Hired personnel at the Kumbh Mela clean the areas along the river shore, ensuring a hygienic environment. Organizers employ a large workforce for daily sanitation, including garbage collection, sweeping, and disinfecting public restrooms and facilities.
- A group of Naga Sadhus, or Naga Babas, gathers on January 14 before starting the procession for the first Shahi Snan (royal bath) of the Kumbh Mela. These ascetic monks, who renounce worldly possessions and are often seen naked and smeared with ash made from burnt wood or cow dung, lead the first bath, and take part in various rituals.
- Member of the Kinnar Akhara walking through the camp, with the decorations almost finished. The camp is a very safe space for the entire community, where Hijra members and people of non-binary genders find support and protection.
- Detail of an earring worn by a devotee of the Kinnar Akhara. This, along with other markers of identity (like their specific clothing, makeup, and hairstyles), helps to distinguish Hijras from others and also indicates their role within the larger spiritual ecosystem of India.
- A cotton candy seller waits for customers, offering vibrant pink, blue, and green treats that are a hit with children. These snacks add to the festive atmosphere, alongside many other at the festival.
- Pilgrims and devotees taking a bath at the Ganga shores in the afternoon. During the Kumbh Mela, they immerse themselves multiple times, especially on the auspicious bathing days, which hold powerful astrological significance. The number of dips per day varies depending on personal devotion.
- A young man resting on a motorcycle near a woman selling plastic containers, with Shastri Bridge in the background. Many pilgrims take river water home for rituals and prayers, maintaining a sacred connection long after the festival.
- Men talking between two improvised tents made of plastic. During the Kumbh Mela, millions of travelers from across India and the world set up temporary camps to participate in the festival.
- Two women cleaning the sand off their feet in one of the public water streams provided as a facility throughout the area of Kumbh Mela for visiting pilgrims.
- Laxmi, from the Kinnar Akhara, busy with her cellphone inside her resting place, with members of her team. She is a prominent member of the Hijra community, which includes people from the third gender and is known for its inclusivity and significance in Hindu traditions.
- A stuck Naga Sadhu amidst the crowd after the first royal bath. The six-week festival is expected to attract around 400 to 450 million people due to the powerful astrological confluence, according to Hinduism, in 2025.