A vermilion dot on the forehead is one of India’s most widely accepted Hindu cultural insignias. But at the festival, where millions are flocking to pray and bathe at the confluence of India’s holy rivers, it morphs into a major display of Hinduism in various forms and designs.

A senior police officer said at least 30 people died as a crowd panicked at the Hindu Kumbh Mela mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.