PATNA, INDIA, November 19, 2002 : About one million Hindu devotees bathed in the holy Ganges in Bihar to mark the festival of Kartika Purnima. Pilgrims filled Patna, most having come from rural areas all over the state and neighboring Uttar Pradesh. Hundreds of Hindus from neighboring Nepal also reached Sonepur to participate in the pilgrimage. Hundreds of thousands raised slogans such as “Har Har Mahadev” at the confluence of the Ganges and Gandak rivers at Sonepur, about 40 km from Patna. Many devotees later visited the Sonepur Fair where Asia’s largest cattle fair commenced on Monday, with owners bringing an estimated 50,000 animals including elephants, camels, cows, bulls and horses for sale. The fair is held over an area of nearly 200 acres. Not only Hindus, but people from all communities throng the fair.
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