2013-01-01 Photo gallery

An ash smeared Hindu Sadhu or holy man speaks with a young boy beside a tent at the confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati in Allahabad on December 31, 2012, ahead of The Maha Kumbh Mela. The Kumbh Mela, which is scheduled to ...

Two girls wish safety for girls as they prepare to welcome the New Year 2013 in Guwahati on Monday. PTI

Indian paramilitary troopers patrol during a one day strike in Srinagar on December 31,2012. Shops and businesses are shut in Kashmir in response to a strike called by separatist groups to protest shooting by government forces that wounded seven civi...

An Indian policewoman, right in plain clothes, pulls a woman outside the governor's office, during a protest against the gang rape of a student, in Kolkata, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. The gang-rape and killing of a New Delhi student has set off an...

Actor Salman Khan performs at New Year's eve special Big Star Entertainment Awards 2012 in Mumbai on Monday. PTI

Youngsters celebrating the New Year 2013 in Bhopal on Monday evening. PTI

Visitors look at a sand sculpture designed to celebrate the 2013 new year by sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik on the beach in Puri, about 65km (40 miles) from the eastern city Bhubaneswar in the Indian state of Odisha December 31, 2012. REUTERS

An India couple stands as they watch the last sunset of 2012 over the shores of the Arabian sea in Mumbai, India, Monday, Dec. 31, 2012.AP

A woman applies coloured powder to her 'rangoli', a Hindu ritual design, in front of her house in Hyderabad on January 1, 2013. Rangolis are drawn in front of homes early in the morning with a beautiful motif to welcome relatives and friends to mark ...

An Indian Sikh devotee cleans the sarover - water tank - at the Sikh Shrine Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 1, 2013. Thousands of Sikh devotees from across India and abroad are preparing to pay obeisance on the occasion of New Year at the te...

Fishermen are silhouetted against the early morning light as they return from fishing in Karachi's China Creek January 1, 2013. REUTERS

Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard (L) greets Australia's test cricket captain Michael Clarke as he arrives for afternoon tea at Kirribilli House in Sydney January 1, 2013. Clarke came through a fitness test on Tuesday, indicating that he m...

Indian tennis player Prakash Amritraj in action against Guillaume Rufin of France at the first round of ATP Chennai Open 2013 in Chennai on Tuesday. PTI Photo

Indian Tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi holding his daughter during the ATP Chennai Open 2013 in Chennai on Tuesday. PTI Photo

Tennis player Rohan Bopanna with his wife during the ATP Chennai Open 2013 in Chennai on Tuesday. PTI Photo