A vermilion dot on the forehead is one of India’s most widely accepted Hindu cultural insignias. At the Maha Kumbh festival, ...

and the Saraswati rivers during the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) ...

their foreheads display a sacred stroke of color. This sacred stroke, called tilak, is ubiquitous to the millions of Hindu pilgrims attending the Maha Kumbh festival in India’s northern ...

Sacred Strokes of Color on Foreheads Are a Major Display of Hinduism at India’s Maha Kumbh Festival PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — The pilgrims come and go as strangers. They march like a sea of ...