More Faces At The Kumbh Mela

Another blog post, another round of great portraits from the Kumbh Mela.

Lining Up At The Kumbh

India is crowded enough as it is, but ask 100 million people to show up in one place? Get in line.

At the Kumbh Mela, lines are a daily reality. All that grooming, eating, shopping, ashram-attending, you're not alone. Not even close. Time to queue up.

Here's a typical scene: a line snaking around a truck early in the morning; people waiting for supplies.

It's getting mighty crowded, no matter where you're queuing.

Lines to the right.....

...and lines to the left.

There are all sorts of reasons to wait. These guys are lining up to see the mobile optometrist.

March Of The Nagas

There's so much to see at Kumbh Mela that you'd better be prepared for the unexpected. While walking the festival one afternoon, suddenly the cops blocked a street for a special procession.

Make way for the nagas!

Nagas? They're a sect of sadhu and these gentleman are in training. Yea, they're devoted.

Their escorts weren't too friendly. Poke your camera where they thought it didn't belong and get ready for a stiff hit from a bamboo stick. This guy is getting ready.

Another look as they march by, in formation.

Bathing Day At The Kumbh, Part 2

Where were we? Oh, right, the big bathing day. Did you forget what it looked like? Just a tiny reminder:

Plenty of regular pilgrims are also busy bathing, trying to share the holy essence of the big day. Here are the coolest grandmother and a desperate man.

It's tricky trying to change, bathe and be modest in front of tens of thousands of people. This guy is Baba Gold. Baba is another term for sadhu and he's got his own decadent thing going. "Three kilos of gold!" they told me he's wearing.

More women sadhus on a mission and an extremely pleased bather, looking like a circus strongman.

The VIP sadhus kept coming, with exotic jungle wraps and a flunkie assigned to carry this guy's own portrait around right next to him. "You don't believe it's me? I have a portrait!"

James experiencing the true definition of "being in the middle of it."

Bathing Day At The Kumbh, Part 1

People come to the Kumbh to bathe in the holy waters at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers. That special bath is what the pilgrimage to the festival is all about. And bathing on one of the big, auspicious holy bathing days is the ultimate cleanse.

There are a handful of big bathing days throughout the two-month festival, days astrologers have selected as the holy of holy. It's on these days that sadhus organize themselves for dawn group bathings. The atmosphere is beyond intense as pilgrims want to witness the sadhus bathing and share the holy water.

Here's the Sangam bathing area on the big day, before the sadhus come and bathe. It's about 3:30 am.

A little later, the police have cleared the area of general pilgrims in anticipation of the sadhus arriving together.

And there they go, a giant mosh of sadhus and related family members filling the area and bathing together.

Bathing is a life-memory event and the bigwigs get themselves videotaped. A sadhu, re-applying ash after the holy bath.
More important sadhus arriving, including women. You best give room.

What the morning is all about, triumphant sadhu emerging before the heathens.

One more look at a regal sadhu and a regular heathen.

Faces At The Kumbh Mela

Portrait time, let's take a look at who goes to the Kumbh Mela.

Seeing The Sadhus At The Kumbh Mela

Kumbh Mela is a huge Hindu festival, 100 million pilgrims coming from all over India and all walks of life. Families, rich, poor, kids, elderly, everyone shows up. But who gets the press, the attention, all the iconic images? The sadhus.

For good reason. They're the holy men, the ones who have dedicated their lives to an ascetic existence in which their days are filled with spiritual teachings and religious guardianship. Or so the story goes. The more people you ask, the more stories you get about the true definition of sadhus.

One thing is certain, they make a good picture.

Here come the sadhus.

What do they do all day when not bathing? They hang out in tents, handlers around, tea brewing, ready to dispense blessings. Or maybe they're a little more of the "relaxation" style and all about smoking a little cannabis.

It can't all be bathing and religious devotion, sometimes you have to get out of the tent, stroll around and do a little shopping.

Or maybe you're looking to raise a little rupee. Strip a thorn bush, throw yourself in it, play some tunes and hope the money pours in. On the right, a formal portrait.

Another look at a typical tent scene, sadhu holding court for some visitors.

A portrait at a bathing area. Sadhus lining up for a meal at one of the many ashrams.

Various photographers jockeying for that iconic image of a sadhu, post-bathing, freshly covered in ash and holding his long hair in all its glory.