Ritual bathing at the confluence of large rivers has long held special significance in Hindu rituals. Sangam, where the Ganga and Yamuna are believed to meet the fabled Saraswati, is the most revered.

The cosmic ocean then was filled with milk, which they churned to draw out the nectar that would ... and hygiene and a potential source of cholera outbreaks. The colonial empire grew increasingly ...

In such places, cholera infects between one and four million people every year, per the World Health Organization, and ...