In this travel feature, Giordano Cipriani photographs one of the largest gatherings of humanity on earth. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would make them immortal. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on the Indian towns of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.
The cleansing ritual of the Maha Kumbh Mela sees many many millions of Hindus rich and poor symbolically wash away their sins in the holy Ganges River. Over the course of 55 days, devotees wade into the river to bathe and perform other religious observations on the banks of the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, River Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati river. Sadhu and Sadhvi (holy men and women) abound.
Cipriani was there amidst the throng of humanity; his pictures are intimate, close up and as we’ve come to expect from him, occasionally wet. See more of his work here
click thumbnails to view as gallery
