Monday, February 18, 2013

The Maha Kumbh 2013 Allahabad Shahi Snan Basant Panchmi




This was shot in the tent where I stayed with my guru on arriving from Mumbai by the Kamyani Express on 12 Feb it was 7 hours late and Gurus disciple Rajan waited for me and bought me to Sector 5 .

I will divide this set in two parts as I shot a lot of naked Naga Sadhus Digambari .. and will moderate those pictures of the Naga Sadhus and the Shahi Snan to adhere to Flickr guidelines that restricts frontal nudity ..

So unless you are a Flickr member you cannot see these pictures ... the tamer ones will be for public view .. I shot Ling Kriya and penile yoga I shot Hijras taking a bath in the Sangam .. the Hijra  pictures can only be seen by my friends on Flickr.. Sorry.


I took the Holy Dip on Shahi Snan too,  after my Naga Guru a moment of spiritual  exhilaration and I shot some great Mahants Sants and Mystics ...I shot a lot , but on Shahi Snan dressed as a Hindu I shot the Naga procession , the Naga mud bath in the safe protection of my Naga Guru.

All my pictures are a story board starting from my journey in Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Station Kurla .. till my departure from Allahabad  on Duranto Express yesterday .. I waited 7 hours in the AC waiting room for my train..but not before helping my Guru with  loading the stuff from the road to the station in heavy rains ..

Vehicles could not enter the station at all..it was real bad situation and honestly we can host Asian Olympics but lack the professional integrity to hold a Maha Kumbh .. and less said about disaster management the better at the Kumbh Mela site it was a filthy dirty environment no internet access and thanks only to the Akhadas there was some semblance of order barring the fire in one of the Akhadas.

My pictures are my personal  poetry , shot of my cultural inheritance and it was a real experience I think whatever your caste creed or religiosity..seeing the Maha Kumbh once in a lifetime is a must.. to understand Indian ethos and Hope Hindutva as a message of Humanity and Universal Peace .

I was lauded for shooting documenting this great moment and gifted a bouquet of roses by His Holiness Chandraswamiji of  Vishwa Dharmayatan Sanathanand his disciple Sant Chetan Vaidyaji was kind enough to introduce me to the great man.