NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that authorities in India are preparing for the biggest day of the weeks-long religious festival known as Kumbh Mela. Millions of Hindus have gathered at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunah rivers to bathe in waters that are supposed to cleanse their souls. The festival is based on the Hindu tale of a long-ago battle between the gods and demons for a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality. Some of the liquid spilled to earth, hence the Kumbh Mela.
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