Devotees drying up their sarees at the beach after a holy dip at Gangasagar! The mela held annually, is the second largest congregation of mankind after the holy Kumbha mela. A dip in the ocean, where the Ganga meets the sea is considered to be of great religious significance with a belief that it will cleanse and purify their souls, particularly on the Makara Sankranti day (January 14/15), when the sun makes a transition to Capricorn from Sagittarius. (Beautiful Bengal, India)