Millions of Hindu devotees gather at Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj as a six-week Maha Kumbh Mela begins today

A six-week Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival kick-started in India on Monday with tens of thousands of people taking a dip in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and the Saraswati. The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu sacred event that is projected to be the world's largest gathering of humanity as it showcases religion, spirituality, tourism, and crowd management. More than 400 million people are expected in the northern city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state over the course of six weeks.