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A dense crowd of devotees and sadhus surges around a flower-decorated palanquin at the Ujjain Kumbh Mela, 2016. The palanquin is heaped with red roses, pink flowers and orange marigold garlands, with a silver-toned base. Many people raise their hands and reach toward it, while others hold up long white yak-tail chamaras and ceremonial staffs. A sadhu nearby is smeared with white ash, and most men wear yellow or orange clothing. Behind them a signboard reads Shri Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara and a green-and-yellow arch marks a water hut run by the Agarwal community.

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A dense outdoor crowd at the Ujjain Kumbh Mela surrounds a silver palanquin decorated with marigold garlands and red and pink flowers, carried in procession past a yellow-and-green gate with a sign reading Jal Mandir. Several tall tridents and ceremonial staffs with red cloth rise above the crowd, and many people raise their hands in devotion. Men in saffron and white sadhu attire stand at the front, one shirtless with ash-marked body. Beside the palanquin, a white yak-tail fly whisk is visible. Blue signage reads Shri Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara. Several people are visible in the procession, with a larger crowd behind yellow barricades.2016-05-21A dense crowd of devotees and Naga sadhus at the Ujjain Kumbh Mela, with many ash-smeared, bare-chested ascetics raising tridents and staffs. A blue sign reads Shri Panchayati Nirvani Akhara, and a yellow arch beside it reads Akhil Bharatiya Sinhastha Samiti. Orange-robed sadhus and white-clad men stand behind yellow metal barriers, some holding decorated staffs with flowers and cloth. Tents, bunting and lights fill the background.2016-05-21May 21 20162016-05-21May 09th 20162016-05-09April 18 20162016-04-18May 09th 20162016-05-09April 18 20162016-04-18Dense crowd procession at a riverside event. Centre: a silver palanquin-like carrier (palanquin/ratha) decorated with yellow marigold garlands and red roses, carried on poles by men in yellow and red shirts. Around it, numerous sadhus with ash-smeared bodies, long matted hair and orange or yellow garlands raise their arms. Many devotees in orange and saffron clothing, some holding conch-like horns or trumpets, and uniformed police visible at upper right. A pink cloth banner and white feather fan hang beside the carrier. A video camera is raised in the crowd.2016-05-09Outdoor religious procession through a crowded festival road lined with tents, flags and banners. A shaved-headed man in an orange-saffron robe with a white and gold garland stands in a white-flowered, red-domed palanquin decorated with marigold garlands. Around him, saffron-robed sannyasis and devotees walk and ride in decorated carts. Many people fill the street, numbering far more than twenty.2016-05-09A dense outdoor procession at a Kumbh Mela site, with a golden palanquin at the top left carrying a seated figure in orange robes and a golden canopy. Behind it, a crowd of naked and white-ash-smeared sadhus fills a roadway lined with yellow metal barricades. A man in white dhoti and gold necklace stands on the palanquin holding a mayur-shaped fan. Police officers in khaki and khaki-uniformed men walk along the barriers. Saffron-robed men carry red and green flags, and tents, vans and banners line the background.2016-04-22April 18 20162016-04-18April 18 20162016-04-18