These folk become both victims and perpetrators of the sacred river's pollution.

ECONOMIST: Pilgrimages

Thirty-five Harvard colleagues and I are at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, a mass pilgrimage in which tens of millions of Hindus gather to bathe at the confluence of the sacred Ganga (Ganges) River, the Yamuna River, and the mythical underground Saraswathi.

FORBES: Why a Harvard Finance Instructor Went to the Kumbh Mela

"Happy birthday to me, " I said to the ripening chestnut tree in the front yard, not yet knowing that the gifts I would receive that day would make me agree to return, reluctantly and to protect sacred secrets, to the grief-breathing place of childhood, to the Seaboro River.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Between the Tides'

As the auspicious moment for the ritual dip drew closer, sadhus rushed towards the waters, chanting sacred passages, shouting religious slogans and singing and dancing, before throwing themselves into the river.

BBC: Hindus take plunge at special Kumbh