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According to Hindu mythology, Haridwar is one of the four places where a drop of the nectar of immortality or amrit fell from the pitcher or kumbh when Garuda, the divine bird of Lord Vishnu, was spiriting it away from the demons after a pitched battle. Since then, Haridwar, along with Allahabad, Nashik and Ujjain—the other three places—have been celebrating the Kumbh Mela.

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To be at the Maha Kumbh celebrations at Haridwar is to get caught up in a swell of pure devotion, and rituals that haven't changed since time immemorial. Haridwar, considered one of the holiest cities in India, is the point at which the River Ganga leaves the mountains and enters the plains. Ash-smeared sadhus with flowing beards and knotted manes had descended from their quiet retreats in the neighbouring hills and mountains. We found ourselves adrift in a surreal world where different realities overlapped: a holy man in orange robes sat cross-legged on the opposite misty bank, deep in meditation; men stripped down to their underwear and women in dripping saris took purifying dips in the freezing jade-green waters of the Ganga; pilgrims floated offerings of flowers, burnt camphor and incense sticks; sadhus with flowing locks and hooded eyelids pulled on chillums; a young chela washed the feet of his stooped, grey-whiskered guru; others scooped up the river water in containers to take back home.

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