Kumbh Mela the greatest show on Earth

The Kumbh Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, to be held at Sangam in Allahabad.

Up to 100 million people will gather on the shores of the Ganges to celebrate the Hindu festival commencing on 14^th January 2013.

For four years the team of British and Indian researchers have been studying the event, seeking to understand how people treat each other, how they experience the crowd and what impact the crowd has on their everyday lives.

They will present their findings at a special event at Allahabad University on 24^th January 2013. The study described the Kumbh Mela as an incredible event and the "greatest show on Earth".

The Kumbh Mela attracts worldwide attention as a remarkable spectacle: millions of pilgrims bathing in the Ganges, parades of gurus on thrones, flanked by naked Naga Sadhus smeared in ash.

This research, led by Nick Hopkins at the University of Dundee, Prof Stephen Reicher at the University of St Andrews, and Prof Narayanan Srinivasan at the University of Allahabad shows it to be remarkable in other ways as well.