Inspired by stories of families separated among the millions celebrating the weeks-long Maha Kumbh Mela, old Bollywood films often featured plots in which siblings got lost at the Hindu festival and were only reunited decades later.

Prepare for Maha Kumbh 2025 by exploring these six must-read books that unravel the spiritual, historical, and cultural mysteries of the world’s largest religious gathering.

Several thousand people from South Africa are expected to flock to the Maha Kumbh Mela being held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh before it officially ends on February 2.

A large fire broke out at a Hindu religious festival, the Maha Kumbh Mela, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, but the blaze was quickly brought under control and no injuries were reported,

Days before India started its mammoth Kumbh Mela festival, a video showing preparations for a nighttime light show surfaced in social media posts that falsely linked it to the six-week Hindu event. The video was in fact originally published by a US-based drone show company and shows a Christmas celebration.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Great Pitcher Festival, will bring more than 400 million people to Prayagraj city in northern India over a period of six weeks starting Monday, making it the largest gathering of humanity in the world.

A fire broke out at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, following a cylinder blast at one of the camp areas. The incident occurred on [insert date], sending panic through the crowd at the massive religious gathering.