Where does it rotate? Well, the four locations are: Haridwar (near the Ganges), Allahabad (close to the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Sarawasti), Nashik (the Godwari) and Ujjain (the Shipra). As you may have noticed those four cities are close to rivers, but the important fact of the location are not the cities but the rivers. The devout believe that bathing in any of those rivers during Kumbh Mela free you from your past sins, in other words, it purifies your karma. But a pure lifestyle is also required after the bath.
Why do they bath? Actually is not nonsense at all, it has a mythological origin. Long ago most of the Gods lost their power and strength and in order to recover it they ask Vishnu, an Hinduist God ("The Preserver or The Protector") , to help them out, he told them that they had to churn the Ocean of milk to obtain the nectar of inmortality, Vasuki the king of snakes became the churning rope. When they got the nectar a war started between the gods and the demons, and it lasted twelve days and nights (twelve human years). There are to theories, the first one is that Vishnu saw what was happenning and in the middle of the battle he took the urn with the elixir and some drops fell in the rivers of the cities: Allabahad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. The other theory suggests that the gods were the ones who hid it in those locations.
Kumbh Mela lasts one and a half months and in 2013 around 80-100 million people went there.
On one hand this peaceful festival must be amazing to witness and even particape, on the other hand the Gangues for example is very polluted and nonwed girls that die are thrown to the river, so it must be non-hygienic and quite nasty.
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