Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India –Pilgrims of the Kumbh
Portrait Series of the real pilgrims of the Kumbh who
are drawn to the unimaginably large, loud and chaotic
event in search of a purelife. It seeks to show the personal
dignity of the great spiritual event of the Kumbh Mela.
Through the beauty of portraiture, Photographer Justin Hession
hopes to spotlight the human ambiguities and complexities
of the Kumbh and bring attention to the incredible spiritual
dedication of the Indian people.

The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. kumbh mela, kumhb mela, kumbh, india, culture, festival, religion, religious festival, pilgrims, pilgrimage, Hindu, Hindu's, largest human gathering, sacred, Ganges, Ganga, portraits, portraiture, photography, studio photography The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen. The Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years on the banks of the Ganges at the confluence of the Yamuna, Ganges and Saraswati rivers near the city of Allahabad in India. It is said that bathing in the waters of the three rivers during the Kumbh Mela will cleanse a person of all their sins and turn mortal to immortal. In 2013 the Kumbh Mela brought together the largest human gathering of our time. It is estimated that on one day during the 2013 Kumbh, 30 million pilgrims bathed in its waters and over a one month period there was in excess of 100 million. It’s not only the pilgrims that make up the numbers. This make shift city offers many amenities and entertainment not to mention all the workers, cleaners, police, medical staff etc. It’s the combination of all that makes this the greatest fair the world has ever seen.