Allahabad and Varanasi, India 2019
The Allahabad Kumbh Mela is a religious gathering, associated with Hinduism and held in the city of Allahabad, India, at the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Sarasvati river. The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters. but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass feedings of monks or the poor, and entertainment spectacle. Approximately 50 million people attended the Allahabad Ardh Kumbh Mela in 2019 to bathe in the holy river Ganges, making it the largest peaceful gathering event in the world.
The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance) for past mistakes, and that it cleanses them of their sins.
Varanasi just downriver from Allahabad also welcomes seekers at this time, so I felt it was appropriate to include Varanasi in the Ganges work. This work is separated in four galleries.