Kumbh Mela (Devanagari: कुम्भ मेला) is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges and river Godavari, where bathing for purification from sin is considered especially efficacious.

The Ardh (half) Kumbh Mela is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad, the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years, at four places Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas', or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.

According to the Mela Administration's estimates, around 70 million people participated in the 45-day Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, in 2007.

The previous Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, was, before it occurred, estimated by the authorities to attract between 30 and 70 million people.

Kumbh Mela is celebrated at different locations depending on the position of the planet of Bṛhaspati (Jupiter) and the sun. When Jupiter and the sun are in the zodiac sign Leo (Singh Rashi) it is held in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik; when the sun is in Aries (Mesha Rashi) it is celebrated at Haridwar; when Jupiter is in Taurus (Vrishabha Rashi ) and the sun is in Capricorn (Makar Rashi) Kumbha Mela is celebrated at Prayag; and Jupiter and the sun are in Scorpio (Vrishchik Rashi) the Mela is celebrated at Ujjain. Each site's celebration dates are calculated in advance according to a special combination of zodiacal positions of Sun, Moon, and Jupiter.

India (born March 9, 1969), known also as "La Princesa de la Salsa" (engl. "The Princess of Salsa"), is a singer of salsa and House music. She has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.

Caballero (birth name: Linda Viera Caballero) was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Her parents moved to New York City soon after her birth, and settled down in the South Bronx area of the city. They moved in with Caballero's grandmother, a woman who served as an important influence on Caballero's life. Her stage name "India" was given to Caballero by her grandmother because of her dark features and long straight black hair.

In 1985, when Caballero was 14 years old, she was a founding member of the Latin freestyle group TKA and was featured on the cover of TKA's second single, "Come Get My Love". She left shortly thereafter.

Caballero signed a record contract with Reprise/Warner Bros. Records, which planned on marketing her as the Latin version of Madonna (who recorded for sister label Sire Records). After recording the album Breaking Night, Caballero decided that she didn't want to take that route in her career.

Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor, and short story writer. Best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—L'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), and Eclipse (1962)—Antonioni "redefined the concept of narrative cinema" and challenged traditional approaches to storytelling, realism, drama, and the world at large. He produced "enigmatic and intricate mood pieces" and rejected action in favor of contemplation, focusing on image and design over character and story. His films defined a "cinema of possibilities".

Antonioni received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, including the Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize (1960, 1962), Palme d'Or (1966), and 35th Anniversary Prize (1982); the Venice Film Festival Silver Lion (1955), Golden Lion (1964), FIPRESCI Prize (1964, 1995), and Pietro Bianchi Award (1998); the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon eight times; and an honorary Academy Award in 1995.

Stephen Knapp (born 1947, Worcester, Massachusetts) is an American artist best known for his use of the medium of lightpainting He has gained an international reputation for large-scale works of art held in museums, public, corporate, and private collections, which are executed in media as diverse as light, kiln-formed glass, metal, stone, mosaic, and ceramic.

Knapp has written and lectured on architectural art glass, the collaborative process, and the integration of art and architecture. His work has appeared in many publications including Art and Antiques, Architectural Record, ARTnews, Ceramics Monthly, The Chicago Sun Times, Honoho Geijutsu, Identity, Interior Design, Interiors, The New York Times, Nikkei Architecture, Progressive Architecture, Sculpture (magazine), and 90+10.

Stephen Knapp was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1947, graduated from Worcester Academy in 1965, and received his B.A. from Hamilton College in 1969. For nearly a decade after graduating from college, he worked as a fine art photographer, selling his work to corporate and private collectors in the United States and abroad. During this early stage in his career Knapp worked closely with Polaroid Corporation on their 20x24 camera, creating large scale instant photographs.

Swami Maheshwarananda, born Mangilal Garg, known as Swamiji (born August 15, 1945 in Rupawas, Pali district, Rajasthan, India), is a yogi, guru and the author and founder of the system Yoga In Daily Life.

According to his Guru he attained the state of self-realization at the age of 17. The World Religious Parliament awarded him with the sign of honour Proud of India in 1994, the spiritual title of Dharma Chkravarti in 1996, and the title Sarvabhaum Jagadguru in 1999. In 1998 he was consecrated as Mahamandaleshwar of Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara at the Maha Kumbha Mela in Haridwar, India. In 2001 the highest spiritual title Vishwaguru was bestowed to him in the presence of His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Shankaracharya Sri Swami Narendranandaji Sarasvati, by the Vidvat Samaj (assembly of professors and scholars of the Sanskrit University of Benares) at the occasion of the Maha Kumbha Mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad).

His parents were pandit Krishna Ramji Garg and Phul Garg. His father was a recognized astrologist. Inspired by his parents, he started to learn to meditate when he was 3 years old. He was growing up with two brothers and three sisters and soon spending most of his time in prayer and meditation. His father died, when he was twelve and his mother sent him to his uncle Swami Madhavanandaji to Nipal for further education. He met his master Swami Madhavanandaji (Holy Guruji) at the age of 13. Mangilal showed little interest for school, but was constantly asking his uncle to make him a Sannyasi.