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A tall wooden pole wrapped in red and yellow cloth rises from the sandy ground of a Kumbh Mela camp, topped by a triangular flag in red, yellow, white and green stripes with a small figure printed at its centre. Thin guy-lines run from the pole to the ground, and a taut wire crosses the frame above it. Beneath, a crowd of men in white dhotis, saffron and red cloths and bare torsos gathers around the base, several pulling on ropes and lifting or steadying the pole. Behind them an orange and yellow canopy stretches along the camp, with white tents beyond and a clear blue sky overhead. Smoke rises near the base of the pole.

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A tall wrapped pole rises diagonally from the lower centre, topped with a triangular flag striped red, yellow, white and green, bearing a small red and gold figure in the centre. Guy wires run to the pole. Beneath it, a crowd of men in white dhotis and orange and red cloth stands on sandy ground, several gripping ropes and lines to raise the pole. Orange and red striped tent awnings line the left side, and white canopy tents stand on the right under a clear blue sky.A tall pole with a tricolour-style flag in red, yellow, white and green flies against a clear blue sky at an outdoor encampment. Several men in white dhotis and cloth wraps are raising the pole with ropes, and others stand along an orange and yellow canopied shelter with pink trim. A man bent over near a small fire works on the ground in the foreground, and sandals and scattered bricks lie on the dusty earth. Many people stand in the background among tents.A procession moves along a sandy path at the Allahabad Kumbh Mela, lined by bamboo fencing and crowds of onlookers on the left. Devotees in white kurtas and dhotis walk in front, several carrying colourful umbrellas, round gold-rimmed fans and a tall saffron-orange flag mounted on a pole. Behind them, a decorated palanquin or ratha with ornate multicoloured canopies is carried forward. Utility poles and distant tents fill the hazy background. Several people in dark jackets and jeans walk along the right side. The scene is a Kumbh Mela procession with devotees and ceremonial umbrellas and flags.February 12 20132013-02-12February 10 20132013-02-10A dense crowd fills a dusty road at the Allahabad Kumbh Mela in 2007, with a procession moving through it under a clear hazy sky. Many people stand shoulder to shoulder, including men in white kurtas, women in colourful saris and shawls, and several uniformed police officers in khaki and dark caps near the front. Some participants carry a tall orange flag, a large golden ceremonial fan and a row of decorated umbrellas in red, yellow and blue. Tents, bamboo poles, electric wires and small flags line the background, with a gateway arch and a loudspeaker on a pole. A figure in white stands above the crowd near the umbrellas, and a placard in Hindi is held up on the right. Some people wear rudraksha-like beads and sit or walk within the procession.April 21 20162016-04-21November 14 20052005-11-14February 10 20132013-02-10February 10 20132013-02-10A photograph of sadhus and devotees hauling a long pole wrapped in red and yellow cloth, pulling together on ropes across a sandy, ash-strewn ground at the Kumbh Mela. Many men wear white dhotis and white shawls; several have bare chests, rudraksha-style necklaces and tilak or vibhuti marks on their foreheads. Behind them stands a striped orange, yellow and pink canopy and white tents under a hazy sky. Smouldering embers and burnt logs lie scattered on the ground in the foreground.February 10 20132013-02-10