NEW DELHI - Two rows of naked Hindu ascetics walk along each side of the street, their bodies smeared with ash. Marigold garlands are draped around their heads and torsos. Trailing them is a cart fitted with several megaphones that blare a devotional song dedicated to Ganesha.

A bevy of liveried musicians march on - a brass band of trumpets, cornets, trombones and a range of other instruments. Throngs of bystanders film this early March procession as it makes its way into Haridwar, a city that is currently hosting the Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu religious gathering held on the banks of the Ganga in the state of Uttarakhand.