It is estimated that more than 600 million people participated in this greatest of Hindu festivals over the course of 45 days in early 2025. Here at Prayag in Uttar Pradesh, at the confluence of two sacred rivers, the Ganges and Yamuna, with a third mystical river, the Saraswati, it is believed that a drop of the nectar of immortality fell from the pot being carried by the gods up into the heavens. Hindus believe that bathing in these waters during the especially auspicious time of the festival when Jupiter, sun and moon are aligned, will wash away the accumulated faults of many lifetimes and liberate them from the cycle of perpetual rebirths. Thus the primary activity of the festival is ritual bathing, in which people engage day and night.

A major attraction at the festival are the large number of wandering Hindu holy men, women and transvestites gather here to perform austerities, and to advise and confer blessings upon secular Hindus in exchange for a donation. A notable aspect of this festival was the participation of the Kinnar Akhara, a religious order of transgender Hindus, as seen in several images here. Traditionally, transgendered people—Kinnars or Hijras—have had an ambivalent place in Indian culture and society—at once marginalized and subjected to discrimination but also playing a significant and respected role in Hinduism. Their recent inclusion in this central Hindu festival signals a movement toward recognition and inclusion of the transgender community within contemporary Hindu religion and society.