Here are glimpses of some of the celebrations.
The Maha Kumbh began on Monday morning with lakhs of devotees as well as ascetics and religious leaders of various orders converging on the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati in Allahabad for a holy dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Even as yoga guru Baba Ramdev vacated the hospital bed on Tuesday and went straight to address media persons, not many realised that another ascetic, who had been admitted to the same hospital, had lost his life after fasting for 114 days.
Curiosity is brewing with recovery of 50 more bodies from river Ganga in Unnao on Wednesday, taking the number of such recoveries over the last few days to 100 and prompting the Centre to ask Uttar Pradesh government what was happening.
The last time the Bachchans visited the city was a decade ago.
Who were the people of ancient Indian civilizations? Has archaeological evidence confirmed the existence of common features of Vedic and Indus culture(s)? Is there an indigenous continuity of the culture in India and Pakistan or did the people come from outside the subcontinent? A two-day international conference on the Indus Valley Civilization, organized by the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angles, California, will attempt to answer some of these questions.
'There is no audience anymore for my graphic novels. Few people seem interested in what I find interesting,' Sarnath Banerjee tells Uttaran Das Gupta.
By any standards, the crowd was far bigger than what the festival has witnessed ever since it began on January 3.
Even the saffron-clad Swami Hari Chaitanya, who was spearheading the much-hyped 'Clean Ganga' campaign, eventually gave up his boycott call.
Authoroties attributed the pollution to the lowered river level on account of reduced flow of water from the frozen source of the rivers in the Himalayas.
Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Friday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "messiah Indians had been waiting for to appear for a thousand years" who has solution to all their problems.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
The project worth about Rs 5,000 crore is underway with assistance from the World Bank.
Behind sprinter Dutee Chand's rise is a hidden journey filled with pain and hardship.
Images from the Sangam in Allahabad...
Coffee is a very small part of the magic that envelopes this beautiful land.
If you're planning to visit Bali this year, you're on the right track; the recent TripAdvisor survey has listed it as a hot favourite vacation destination among Indian travellers.
'Two have already sacrificed their lives.' 'How many more shall need to sacrifice before the government listens?' 'Four, five or six? They are ready, waiting.' After Ganga campaigner G D Agrawal's death, a Haridwar ashram's sadhus are on a relay fast unto death.
In the crazily complex cauldron that is India, where caste, community, class and cash are just the primary ingredients, no one has yet come up with a fool-proof method to ascertain how voters make up their minds, on which button to press, in the privacy of their 'confessional' booths, notes Krishna Prasad.
The Enforcement Directorate had last week arrested Chhagan Bhujbal's associate and chartered accountant Sunil Naik in connection with the case.
'I can assure you the Ganga will be more polluted in 2030 than it is now.' 'What they are trying to do now is clean the Ganga without understanding how to do so.'
Traditionally the biggest of all the sacred bathing days in the 50-day long Mela, Mauni Amavasya this time holds greater significance as it falls on a Monday and that too during the Kumbh - a rather rare combination on many accounts.
Siva Sankar looks at S P Balasubrahmanyam's fantastic repertoire.
Swollen waters of the Bhagirathi following incessant overnight rains washed away a famous Shiva temple in Uttarkashi on Friday even as the state government set September 11 as the date for resumption of regular prayers at Kedarnath temple,which were suspended after the June calamity.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
'One per cent of wealthy people have been handed over 99 per cent of our nation's resources. The rest are mute, helpless and very frightened spectators to this loot.'
The Ganga agitation and the question of preserving the Himalayan ecology has become a deadly cocktail of politics and religion. Behind the scene, of course, at play are powerful business interests. What is needed is an independent scientific assessment of the problem and preparation of a blueprint for preservation of the Himalayan rivers and associated ecology, says Dinesh C Sharma.
The attack on a Dalit family in Faridabad days before the Khattar government's first anniversary suggests that nothing has changed.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
The PM also made a veiled attack on the Congress referring to corruption in purchase of helicopter, aircraft, guns and cooking gas subsidy.
Scientists believe the unique geological locations where they are situated makes them worthy of veneration.
The RSS realises that with a majority BJP government at the Centre and in several states, now was the best time to undermine and perhaps outdo the Congress-Left 'stranglehold' over campuses and young minds.
Punjab politics has produced a dog's breakfast on the river waters issue. Except, you'd see even dogs eat better, says Shekhar Gupta.
Pavan K Varma, diplomat, writer and politician, embarks on a quest about Hinduism's great thinker's stay in Varanasi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to address concerns of international community over India not signing the non-proliferation treaty by saying that the country's commitment to peace and non-violence is engrained in the "DNA of Indian society" which is above any international treaty or processes.
The controversy over Sant Rampal and his army of followers taking the law into their hands has once again thrown the spotlight on the clout that India's godmen possess.
Most top industrialists rate PM's first 100 days in office as 'good', primarily due to his intentions, not concrete policy measures.
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