The pilgrims come and go as strangers. This sacred stroke, called tilak, is ubiquitous to the millions of Hindu pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh festival in India's northern Prayagraj city, where faithful gather at the spot where the Ganges,

Millions of Hindus are gathering in a northern Indian city for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious congregation.

Moments before a deadly stampede at the world's biggest religious gathering in India, Hindu devotees queuing to take a spiritual bath in a river said they pleaded with police to open barricaded routes to thin out a surging crowd.