POY05D - YEAREND PICTURES - Sadhus, Hindu holy men, run in to India's
holiest river, the Ganges during the "Maha Kumbh Mela", or Great
Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on January
14, 2001. The "Royal Bath" day began about one hour before dawn, with
elite holy men, or sadhus, taking turns to immerse themselves in Ganges
at the confluence point known as the "sangam". The organisers of the
festival, which takes place in Allahabad every 12 years, believe that
up to 70 million people could take part over its six weeks.
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