An Indian couple make cow dung cakes for use as a fuel for clay stoves, which will be sold to devotees arriving for the upcoming Magh Mela festival in Allahabad, India. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus are expected to take holy dips at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the astronomically auspicious period of over 45 days celebrated as Magh Mela.

Cow dung cakes are left to dry on the wall of a house in Allahabad, India. Hindus have long worshipped cows as sacred and cow dung has been used for centuries as fuel for fires – whether for cooking or in ritual fires. Now, online vendors like Amazon, ShopClues and eBay are selling cow dung patties to India's ever-increasing urban population, especially those who grew up in villages.

An Indian village woman makes cow dung cakes in Allahabad, India.

Hindu holy men perform a ritual by burning dried cow dung cakes in earthen pots at Sangam, at the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati, at the annual Magh Mela fair in Allahabad, India.