The Kumbha Mela in India represents the largest gathering of people in the world.

Deborah Mandel of Lyme will present a slide show and some short videos on Thursday, June 20, at 7 p.m. about her February 2013 trip to India to experience the Kumbha Mela.  The program will be held at the Library.

The Kumbha Mela, in Alhalabad, is the largest gathering of people in the world. Hindus go by the tens of millions to bathe in the Ganges River in order to purify themselves of their sins.  An event that has taken place every 12 years for the last 5,000 years, it is spectacular — aesthetically, culturally and spiritually.

The major event of the festival is the ritual bathing at the banks of the river Ganges, at the Sangam (the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati Rivers) in Allahabad.

Tens of thousands of holy men and women (Sadus) attend as well as millions of men and women, families, and children. They walk for miles, the women dressed in saris, everyone, children included, carrying their possessions on their heads in suitcases, baskets, wrapped in cloth, all for their religious devotion.

The program is free and open to the public.  Call 860-434-2272 to register or email programreg@lymepl.org.