Nashik Kumbh Mela: President Droupadi Murmu hoists the saffron flag in Nashik to launch the 21-month pilgrimage expected to draw 12 crore devotees. Mumbai: Amid prayers, Vedic hymns and religious rituals, the saffron flag went up over the banks of the Godavari River in Nashik on Saturday, formally heralding the beginning of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela, a nearly 21-month-long religious period expected to draw around 12 crore pilgrims..