Today, a Kumbh Mela is held roughly once every twelve years in Hardiwar, Ujjian and Nashik.

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The administration has deployed more than 3, 000 policemen to guard the two holy towns of Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.

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Nandi Hills, a verdant wine-producing region 40km north of Bangalore, may be less famous than its northern sister, Nashik, but it is quickly catching up.

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In Hindu creation myths, the gods and demons fought over a kumbh (pitcher) containing the nectar of immortality, but during the fight four drops of the liquid fell to earth, one at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, one at Hardiwar in Uttarakhand, one at Ujjian in Madhya Pradesh and one at Nashik in Maharashtra.

BBC: India hosts the world��s biggest gathering