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En el hinduismo, el kumbhamela o kumbh mela es un peregrinaje que se realiza cuatro veces cada doce años, y tiene lugar, por turno, en los siguientes lugares santos: Prayag, el nombre hindú de Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain y Nasik.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 es el Ardh Kumbh Mela que se celebra en Triveni Sangam en Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, del 15 de enero al 4 de marzo de 2019
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019
According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Rising attendance and scale
Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, c. 2001.
Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world, the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration. For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj, the preparations include a ₹42,000 million (US$580 million or €510 million) temporary city over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railway, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.
In 1903, 400,000 pilgrims were recorded as attending the fair at Prayagraj.
On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day.
In 2001, 70 million pilgrims attended the 55 days long Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, including more than 40 million on the busiest single day.
In 2007, 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
#kumbhmela #kumbh #prayagraj #ardh #allahabad #2019
About 25 years back I first met Laxmi I was to do her costumes for an Indra Kumar film she was playing the role of a dance teacher ..we hit it off became very good friends .
Than we met at Haji Malang and she hugged me and this was a great reunion.. we promised to keep in touch..I was at that time documenting the Sufis the Rafaees of Sikandar Wali Baba of Chandshah wali.
In Mumbai I wanted to shoot the Hijra Sammelan at Park Site I contacted Laxmi she wanted to protect me so she made me her disciple so I could document the hijras without getting into trouble with the Nayaks and Gurus .
I was dressed as a sadhu and the hijras bodily lifted me and threw me out it was my photo journalist friend Nitin Sonawane from Time groups who spoke to Mr Santosh Shetty social activist I met him I was bought in the presence of Guru Madhurima I told her I was Laxmis disciple so I was accepted and shot the remaining days of the sammelan without any problem..
Laxmis name even those early days carried a lot of weight ,,
Laxmi has come home met my wife daughter and thus became our extended family .
I have blocked my documentary Hijras of India from public view but it is dedicated and inspired by Guru Laxmi..
We have been close at Ajmer Urus and Laxmi has been my pillar of strength ..if I got into any problems shooting the hijras all I had to do was call her and the matter would be solved instantly .
It was my attire that scared the Hijras they thought I was a shaman and would steal their souls ..lol.
I shot Laxmi her tryst as a Maha Mandleshwar Ujjain Kumbh and her Kinnar Akhara was the most well organized disciplined and the best at the Ujjain Kumbh ,
Everyone wanted to be blessed by Guru Laxmi men woman children and mostly foreigners ,,sadhus wanted her as their supreme guru..
This year I hope she invites me to the Ardh Kumh as my own Naga Guru Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj Juna Kinnar Akhara
13 Madi died last November he gave me food shelter protection.
I just want to go for Basant Panchami Shahi Snan.
So Jai Ho Guru Laxmi
I seriously began documenting the Naga Sadhus Juna Akhara from Nasik Kumbh 2003 Trimbakeshwar .
I met a Naga Sadhu who had studied Islamic scriptures was a teacher in Mangalore but than renounced family life and took the path of peace begging at Haji Malang Dargah was also a devotee of the Holy Saint .
Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj I accepted as my Naga Guru I needed some support to shoot and document the Naga Sadhus of Juna Akhara .
My Naga Guru stayed on a hillock at Film City I visited his Ashram after the Nasik Kumbh ,,, he visited my house .
In 2007 he invited me to the Ardh Kumbh Allahabad I think but I could not make it due to Moharam.
In 2013 he invited me to Maha Kumbh Allahabad I shot this Kumbh extensively than I shot the Nasikh Kumbh 2015 Trimbakeshwar I lived with the Nagas .
In 2016 I shot the Ujjain Kumbh ..than one day I got a message from my friend Laurent Salesse he wanted to shoot Khamakhya Assam in 2016 unfortunately he could not make it I did ..it was a real tough experience the Ashram where I lived had no toilet I went through hell being a diabetic,,,
But The Goddess was kind a chaiwala Narayan allowed me to use his toilet he refused to take money from me and he too is a photographer ,, only sells tea snacks during the Ambubachi Mela .
It was meeting Niku Sarma that changed everything I met him by cosmic accident and he visited my home with his mother at Bandra and this year 2017 Mrs Shatrughan Sinha bought me my flight tickets it was Niku who put me in his house next to the temple took care of me ..I had the best Assamese dishes that his Mother God Bless Her made for me they treated me like family .
Most of my time in Khamakhya was spent shooting the Naga Sadhus at Dattareya Mandir this year the temple authorities had banned the Nagas from roaming about in the nude .
Shooting this iconic Tantric kingdom was my dear friend Laurent but Laurent was staying in a hotel at Guwahati and most of the times had to climb up the mountains no transport here during the fair main days .
In the night I shot the Aghoris as I knew the Aghori Guru I had met him last year this was my main study my main documentation and the Aghoris were active only after midnight ,, I shot a lot of videos but in poor low light at the Khamakhya crematorium.
I also documented black magicians tantrics and Hijra shamans .
I have already started saving money to go to Khamakhya in 2018 .
Luckily at the Naga Sadhu abode I knew Bhagwati Giri Guru who was my Gurus Guru Bhai he knew me since Allahabad and other Kumbhs I did not have much resistance shooting them..
Most Naga Sadhus dont like photographers but I was an enigma to them dressed as a Sadhu with a Muslim name on my International Press Card.
It was getting registered by a Naga Kotwal Ram Giri to the Juna Akhara Khamakhya that helped me and Laurent the most.
Laurent shoots medium format film and he shoots with a camera attached ring flash with backdrop.. this was a great learning though not my style of photography .
On Eid both Laurent and I shot the Eid Namaz Eid Ul Zuha at Eidgah Guwhati.
Laurent and I met first in Lucknow Ashura 2007 we have shot a lot of events together he is like a great protective teacher his knowledge of photography is boundless after Khamakhya he was going to hire a bike to shoot the local tribes in Ladakh.
I realized first and foremost I can only shoot what I was destined to shoot and the Gods and Goddesses I shoot must invite me to complete the circle of bonding ..
Om Namo Narayan.
Lalbaugh Chya Raja ..2018
I have been shooting Lalbaugh Chya Raja for over 18 years,,
He calls me every year..
Photographer come to the Pandal
He gently whispers into my ears
My vision embedded into the third of Shiva
he holds dear I shoot his divine Mother
When Durga Puja draws near ..
Har Har Mahadev Ardh Kumbh Mela
Clarion call I hear
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhu
A sadhu, also spelt saddhu, is a religious ascetic, mendicant (monk) or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Naga = naked.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad. Bathing is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins. (Wikipedia)
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhu and Sadhus
A sadhu, also spelt saddhu, is a religious ascetic, mendicant (monk) or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Naga = naked.
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhus are considered as militant groups of Hindus for safeguarding Hinduism and India from foreign invaders. They mostly live in Himalayan Caves and they appear during the time of Kumbh Mela. They never disturb or kill any innocent people of the Society. Naga Sadhus are mostly half clothed Saints, long Jata on their heads. Their faces are always covered with ash. (Quora)
Starting on January 15, 2019, and lasting until March 4, 2019, the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela will take place in Allahabad, India. Authorities are expecting approximately 100 million visitors to come for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers.
This was my first Ardh Kumbh without the presence of my Naga Guru late Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj he passed away at Mangalore in 2017 .
We were together for Ujjain Kumbh 2016 .
I thought this time I will join the Aghoris at Ardh Kumbh I reached their Akhara but they had left for Kashi they suggested I go to the Transgender Kinnar Akhara where my Guru Maha Mandleshwar Laxmi Narayan Tripathi was at the helm but I got a call from another Naga Guru he was a colleague of my Guru he said come over to Juna Akhara extension I immediately hopped into a rickshah paid a bomb reached the Akhara .
I stayed with them it was close to the river bed and here on Shahi Snan I met a lot of foreign photographers I was very close to Reuters photographer Jitendra Prasad he was a local from this area and we had shot Nasik and Ujjain Kumbh .For me as a photographer shooting diverse faith religiosity the Kumbh is a moment of learning ..I promote peace and humanity through my photography and I seamlessly fit in the religion I shoot be it Hinduism Sufism Shiasm.
India is an amazing place for photographers like me I missed my friend mentor Dr Glenn Losack .
I did not shoot the Haridwar Kumbh 2019 20 ..I had taken my first jab of the vaccine and did not want to miss the second one ...the other problem was my bypass surgery and diabetes .
Of late there is no events in my city I mostly shoot the streets with my Vivo 20 mobile phone .
I miss my foreign photographer friends Boaz best photo companion Marc de Clercq Francois and Laurent Salesse ...times have changed ...we are caught in the vortex of a Virus that is deadly and dangerous .
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Sunset at the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers. It is a holy place where people bathe during Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad. Bathing is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.
This is part of a series i made about Hindu pilgrims during the Ardh Kumbh mela in Allahabad, Januray 2007.
Time for prayer facing the setting sun at the Sangam where the sacred Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
Allahabad - Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India
Bath ceremony
The Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred pitcher) is anchored in Hindu mythology. It is the largest public gathering and collective act of faith, anywhere in the world. The Mela draws tens of millions of pilgrims over the course of approximately 48 days to bathe at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mystical Sarasvati. Primarily, this congregation includes Ascetics, Saints, Sadhus, Sadhvis, Kalpvasis, and Pilgrims from all walks of life.
Inscribed in 2017 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO.
Kumbh | 2019
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019 According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Allahabad - Ardh Kumbh Mela.
Bathing at Sangam (the confluence of the ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati Rivers).
Boatride.
Kumbh | 2019
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019 According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019
According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Rising attendance and scale
Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, c. 2001.
Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world, the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration. For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj, the preparations include a ₹42,000 million (US$580 million or €510 million) temporary city over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railway, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.
In 1903, 400,000 pilgrims were recorded as attending the fair at Prayagraj.
On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day.
In 2001, 70 million pilgrims attended the 55 days long Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, including more than 40 million on the busiest single day.
In 2007, 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
#kumbhmela #kumbh #prayagraj #ardh #allahabad #2019
En el hinduismo, el kumbhamela o kumbh mela es un peregrinaje que se realiza cuatro veces cada doce años, y tiene lugar, por turno, en los siguientes lugares santos: Prayag, el nombre hindú de Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain y Nasik.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 es el Ardh Kumbh Mela que se celebra en Triveni Sangam en Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, del 15 de enero al 4 de marzo de 2019
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019
According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Rising attendance and scale
Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, c. 2001.
Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world, the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration. For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj, the preparations include a ₹42,000 million (US$580 million or €510 million) temporary city over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railway, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.
In 1903, 400,000 pilgrims were recorded as attending the fair at Prayagraj.
On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day.
In 2001, 70 million pilgrims attended the 55 days long Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, including more than 40 million on the busiest single day.
In 2007, 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
#kumbhmela #kumbh #prayagraj #ardh #allahabad #2019
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Sunset at the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers. It is a holy place where people bathe during Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad. Bathing is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.
Sangam, Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river.
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019
According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Rising attendance and scale
Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, c. 2001.
Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj is the largest in the world, the attendance and scale of preparation of which keeps rising with each successive celebration. For the 2019 Ardh Kumbh at Prayagraj, the preparations include a ₹42,000 million (US$580 million or €510 million) temporary city over 2,500 hectares with 122,000 temporary toilets and range of accommodation from simple dormitory tents to 5-star tents, 800 special trains by the Indian Railway, artificially intelligent video surveillance and analytics by IBM, disease surveillance, river transport management by Inland Waterways Authority of India, and an app to help the visitors.
In 1903, 400,000 pilgrims were recorded as attending the fair at Prayagraj.
On 14 April 1998, 10 million pilgrims attended the Kumb Mela at Haridwar on the busiest single day.
In 2001, 70 million pilgrims attended the 55 days long Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, including more than 40 million on the busiest single day.
In 2007, 70 million pilgrims attended the 45-day long Ardha Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
In 2013, 120 million pilgrims attended the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj.
#kumbhmela #kumbh #prayagraj #ardh #allahabad #2019
Early 70s I worked at Burlingtons Taj Mahal Colaba ,,
Due to bad luck I lost my job In unavoidable circumstances and I was caught in a vortex of a situation that was bought about by a few evil colleagues at work..
I was very young this was my third job of my life I could not stick to a job I was hot tempered violent ..
However once I lost my job I started searching for another one I was doing morning college too..
I got a call from a boutique at Sheratons Maharajah ,,the owner called me to her palatial house at Breach Candy for an interview I spoke French bit of German..I was offered the job but sh wanted a testimonial from my ex boss..I did not have one ..
I told her I would try to get it ,,when I came to my area Strand Cinema my best friend a Pathan Fazal Khan worked as a manager of the canteen that belonged to Jimmy Irani of Paradise Colaba ..I told him my problem he made me sit in a cab and took me to Bhahauddin Shah Babas Dargah a famous Sufi Saint at Marine Lines .
Coming from a Shia background I told him I will stand outside the Tomb on the porch and will invoke the Saint to get me a job at Sheraton,,,and also hoped that my boss Mrs Gupta would give me a positive character certificate .
The next day I came to Burlingtons Taj where I had worked and left, for my certificate the manager told me to meet Mrs Gupta at Anjali building our main office as I stepped out I met Mrs Gupta we were all scared of her I told her that I was getting a job at Sheraton and needed the certificate from her .
She said to meet her at the office I walked out towards Radio Club and I heard footsteps following me I turned back ,,it was Mrs Gupta she accosted me and asked me why had I left the job I was in Lucknow with my mother when a few sales staff was caught by our manager Mike Kriplani they were handed over to the cops and one of them to save his skin gave my name .
I told her it was this fear of being arrested that made me leave the job .she knew my Dad Mohomed Shakir she told me to come with him next morning to the office and she spoke privately to my dad and re appointed me back to work with them.
So Fazal took me to the Dargah of Bahauddin Shah Baba I entered inside offered a floral tribute and thanked the Holy Saint for getting back my honor and my job.
I visited the dargah for a few months but than I stopped going completely ..
As i got married and in 1980 left for Muscat .
This was my first encounter with Sufism..
But I had no issue I came from a Shia background my mother started taking me to Hazrat Abbas Dargah at Dongri ,
Later about 18 years back when I took up photography to get rid of my alcoholic dependence I started shooting Shiasm at Imamwada I met a few friends and thus began my Shia documentary ,,
I also met my Hindu Gurus of photography began shooting Hinduism than shot my first Kumbh Mela 2003 Nasikh.
My Naga Guru was a teacher in Mangalore before he renounced the world an Islamic scholar so I became his student and thanks to him shot Maha Kumbh Allahabad Nasik Kumbh Ujjain Kumbh ,
My photography one day pulled me to Dargah of Makhdhoom Shah baba my friends Fahad Pathan and Sakib introduced me to the Rifais I decided to document the Rifai and I met the Murshad Late Sikandar Wali Baba I shot several dargahs and than shot Haji Malang .
I met Peersab Fakhru Miya of Hujra no 6 Ajmer in 2004 at Juhu Mumbai a hardcore lover of Hussain we got along he invited me to Ajmer Sharif in 2005 I began documenting the Chishtiya Silsila I shot for 12 years .
I stayed at Peersabs house and shot the Urus of Garib Nawaz I tried never to miss it as Garib Nawaz was the greatest follower of Imam Hussain.. Shah Ast Hussain.
I also shot Nizamuddin Aulia Dewa Sharif Mira Datar Bu Shah Qalandar .
In 2005 I began shooting the Dam Madar Malangs their head Syed Masoom Ali Baba Madari Asqan and Syed Rafik Ali Baba .
In 2011 I decided to document the Malangs seriously along with a Belgian photographer friend we both joined the Order and these Malangs of Ali accepted us we both again went to Makanpur spiritual seat of the Masdariyya Order in 2013 .
I shot the Maha Kumbh Allahabad in 2013 ..
A lot of my foreigner photographer friends started joining me to shoot the Malngs at Makanpur .
In 2017 while at Makanpur Syed Masoom Ali Baba and Syed Rafik Ali Baba gave me the Khilafatnama I wantedto politely refuse as I am not that spiritual ..but accepted it .
My foreigner friends walked to Ajmer from Delhi this year I decided to walk too documenting this pilgrimage and the Chishtiya trek from Dargah of Ma Sahiba mother of Nizamuddin Aulia .
I am now going to join the Qalandaris for the next pilgrimage walking from Bu Shah Qalandar Panipat to Ajmer ..I want to document the Sufi Qalandari Order at the same I am preparing for the Ardh Kumbh in Allahabad 2019 .
I also began documenting the Naga Sadhus Tantrics Hijra Shamans of Khamakhya I have shot this Tantric spot in Assam for last two years .
The other documentary is the relationship of Hijras with Sufi Saints and Sufi Dargah this is disabled from public view ..but it has the blessings of Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripathi.
As a Muslim living in India my roots my cultural inheritance is bound to Mother India ..I was lucky that God chose India as my birthplace and housed me in the best womb.. I am the refection of my Mothers views thoughts my parents were Shia Muslims conservative but modern in their outlook..they did not pigeon hole us at all.. they gave us spiritual freedom we never misused it ..
Today my brothers sister are the fruits branches of our parental heritage .
We never ever needed to call a Hindu a Kafir as we were bought up by a Hindu maid elderly and we called her Aiee Mother my mother was an asthmatic so Aiee took care of us ,, and today I have no issue with any ones religion or faith ,,,and this is the beauty of India of living in Peace and I found this spirit only in Mumbai My Dharma My Karma ,, My Karbala too ...metaphorically poetically holding my soul.
Read me only as a Photographer and a Street Poet of Sorts.
The photo is of a Sufi Monk who has been my friend since I met him in Ajmer I never asked his name ,,
But like Syed Rafik Baba my Murshad he too calls me Maulaiee follower of Ali .
Allahabad - Prayagraj
The bathing ceremony.
Sunset at the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers. It is a holy place where people bathe during Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad. Bathing is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.
This was taken in Allahabad during the Ardh Kumbh mela in January 2007. This young sadhu covered in rudraks (sacred seeds) was posing at his camp and giving darshan (blessing) to passers by, in the Juna akhara.
Allahabad - Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
My second day in Prayagraj: walking in the morning, by boat in the evening.
Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. The festival site is located on the banks of the river: the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad. Bathing in this river is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.
Kumbh Mela has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
The Lizard Lifeboat Station can refer to several Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat stations located on the Lizard in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The first was established at the southernmost point of the peninsula in 1859. Since then successive stations have all been in operation at different locations on The Lizard. The current station is located at Kilcobben Cove 0.5 mi (0.80 km) east of the village of Lizard.
The lifeboat stations have all covered the westerly approaches to the English Channel; with up to 400 ships-a-day, it is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The lifeboat service has saved many lives over the past 150 years.
The RNLI established its first lifeboat at the southern tip of The Lizard in 1859. The station, which cost £120 to build, was located atop the cliffs above Polpeor Cove about 0.6 mi (0.97 km) south of the village of Lizard. It was inaugurated after the 740-ton steamer, Czar, foundered on the Vrogue Rock, off Bass Point on 22 January 1859. The government transport ship was taking ammunition and uniforms to Malta. Fishing crews from Cadgwith and Church Cove saved some of the crew but the captain and his family drowned. Following the tragedy, a Mrs Agar of Lanhydrock donated money to buy the first Lizard Lifeboat (Anna Maria).
However the location of the first lifeboat station on the cliff above Polpeor Cove was not ideal as it made launches a long and precarious operation in rough sea and weather. On 2 January 1866 the lifeboat broke up after it was launched on exercise during a storm. It was pushed on to rocks causing the death of its Coxswain Peter Mitchell and crew members Richard Harris and Nicholas Stevens. As a tribute to the loss, the RNLI gave £130 to the local lifeboat fund. (Location: 49°57′32.53″N 5°12′22.77″W)
In 1885 a larger station was built above the high-water mark lower down in Polpeor Cove to house a larger lifeboat.[1] The existing smaller craft was moved to a new station at Church Cove just east of Lizard village. (Location: 49°57′33.51″N 5°12′24.53″W)
The final lifeboat station within Polpeor Cove was completed in 1914. The large concrete building had an integrated slipway which meant the lifeboat was able to launch directly into the sea. However this could prove hazardous in rough conditions because of the number of rocks in the cove. The exposed position of the station also meant it required a great deal of expense to maintain its general upkeep.
In order to relaunch the lifeboat, a recovery system was used to haul it back into the boat house. First ropes were places around a natural rock pillar in the sea in order to turn the stern of the boat towards land. A giant wheel – at the rear of the station – was then used to winch the boat back up the slipway.
The result of these difficulties meant the RNLI was forced to spend money repairing the station and the lifeboats from time to time. By 1958, with the need to employ larger and faster lifeboats due to the growth in maritime commerce, the RNLI decided to close Polpeor Cove because of its operating limitations. The RNLI eventually chose Kilcobben Cove as it new location for The Lizard Lifeboat station because it was sufficiently protected to allow safe launches in all conditions. Polpeor Cove closed in 1961. (Location: 49°57′33.56″N 5°12′25.57″W)
In 1867 the RNLI placed a second lifeboat at the fishing village of Cadgwith on the east side of the Lizard. This service ran until 1963, when it was finally closed. The station was then integrated with the service at The Lizard's Kilcobben Cove. (Location: 49°59′14.25″N 5°10′46.56″W)
Church Cove station, which was built at a cost of £300, opened in 1885. It housed the original lifeboat from the first station at Polpeor Cove when that was replaced with a new building and a larger vessel. Church Cove station, which was 0.4 mi (0.64 km) from the village of Landewednack was used in conjunction with Polpeor Cove for 14 years until it was closed and sold off in 1899. (Location: 49°58′16.49″N 5°11′18.62″W)
The RNLI decided that a new station on The Lizard would be built at Kilcobben Cove 1.25 mi (2.01 km) east of The Lizard lighthouse. Construction was a major civil engineering project because the station and its slipway were built on a cliff just above the waterline. The station, which cost £90,000, was opened on 7 July, 1961 by the Duke of Edinburgh, who also named the new Barnett-class lifeboat Duke of Cornwall ON952. Due to the steepness of the cliff, a funicular railway carries the lifeboat crew down to the boathouse.
The lifeboat station was originally called The Lizard-Cadgwith Lifeboat Station because it recognised the merging of the two former services based at Polpeor Cove and Cadgwith. This name was officially changed in 1987 to The Lizard Lifeboat Station. In 1988 the station and the slipway required adaptation with the arrival of a Tyne-class lifeboat called David Robinson ON1145.
In 2010 the original station was demolished because it could not accommodate the latest Tamar-class lifeboats. During the rebuilding the lifeboat was kept moored afloat off Cadgwith. On 5 May 2012, the new station was officially opened by Admiral the Lord Boyce, chairman of the RNLI. On the same day, the station's new Tamar-class boat, which had replaced David Robinson the year before, was named Rose in a ceremony by the-then Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Lady Mary Holborow.
The Lizard (Cornish: An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerly on the British mainland, and is in the civil parish of Landewednack, the most southerly parish. The valleys of the River Helford and Loe Pool form the northern boundary, with the rest of the peninsula surrounded by sea. The area measures about 14 by 14 miles (23 km × 23 km). The Lizard is one of England's natural regions and has been designated as a National Character Area 157 by Natural England. The peninsula is known for its geology and for its rare plants and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The Lizard's coast is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round the peninsula were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships" (see below). The Lizard Lighthouse was built at Lizard Point in 1752 and the RNLI operates The Lizard lifeboat station.
Etymology
The name "Lizard" is most probably a corruption of the Cornish name "Lys Ardh", meaning "high court"; it is purely coincidental that much of the peninsula is composed of serpentinite-bearing rock. The peninsula's original name may have been the Celtic Bridanoc, from Britannakon ("the "British one"), preserved in the name of the former village of Predannack, now site of Predannack Airfield.
History
There is evidence of early habitation with several burial mounds and stones. Part of the peninsula is known as the Meneage (land of the monks).
Helston, the nearest town to the Lizard peninsula, is said to have once headed the estuary of the River Cober, before it was cut off from the sea by Loe Bar in the 13th century. It is speculated that Helston was once a port, but no records exist. Geomorphologists believe the bar was most likely formed by rising sea levels, after the last ice age, blocking the river and creating a barrier beach. The beach is formed mostly of flint and the nearest source is found offshore under the drowned terraces of the former river that flowed between England and France, and now under the English Channel. The medieval port of Helston was at Gweek, possibly from around 1260 onwards, on the Helford river which exported tin and copper. Helston was believed to be in existence in the sixth century, around the River Cober (Dowr Kohar). The name comes from the Cornish "hen lis" or "old court" and "ton" added later to denote a Saxon manor; the Domesday Book refers to it as Henliston (which survives as the name of a road in the town). It was granted its charter by King John in 1201. It was here that tin ingots were weighed to determine the duty due to the Duke of Cornwall when a number of stannary towns were authorised by royal decree.
The royal manor of Winnianton, which was held by King William I at the time of the Domesday Book (1086), was also the head manor of the hundred of Kerrier and the largest estate in Cornwall. It was assessed as having fifteen hides before 1066. At the time of Domesday there was land for sixty ploughs, but in the lord's land there were two ploughs and in the lands held by villeins twenty-four ploughs. There were twenty-four villeins, forty-one freedmen, thirty-three smallholders and fourteen slaves. There was 6 acres (24,000 m2), eight square leagues of pasture and half a square league of woodland. The livestock was fourteen unbroken mares, three cattle and one hundred and twenty-eight sheep (in total 145 beasts); its value was £12 annually. 11 of the hides were held by the Count of Mortain and there is more arable and pasture and 13 more persons are recorded: Rinsey, Trelowarren, Mawgan-in-Meneage and seventeen other lands are also recorded under Winnianton.
Mullion has the 15th century church of St Mellanus, and the Old Inn from the 16th century. The harbour was completed in 1895 and financed by Lord Robartes of Lanhydrock as a recompense to the fishermen for several disastrous pilchard seasons.
The small church of St Peter in Coverack, built in 1885 for £500, has a serpentinite pulpit.
The Great Western Railway operated a road motor service to The Lizard from Helston railway station. Commencing on 17 August 1903, it was the first successful British railway-run bus service and was initially provided as a cheaper alternative to a proposed light railway.
The Solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 departed the UK mainland from the Lizard.
The transatlantic record run of the unaccompanied one hand sailor Thomas Coville within less than 5 days in his sailboat Sodebo Ultim from New York, USA, to Europe landed here on 15 July 2017.
Nautical
The Lizard has been the site of many maritime disasters. It forms a natural obstacle to entry and exit of Falmouth and its naturally deep estuary. At Lizard Point stands the Lizard Lighthouse. In fact, the light was erected by Sir John Killigrew by his own expense: It was built at the cost of "20 nobles a year" for 30 years, but it caused an uproar over the following years, as King James I considered charging vessels to pass. This caused so many problems that the lighthouse was demolished, but was successfully rebuilt in 1751 by order of Thomas Fonnereau and remains almost unchanged today. Further east lie The Manacles, near Porthoustock: 1+1⁄2 square miles (4 km2) of jagged rocks just beneath the waves.
In 1721 the Royal Anne Galley, an oared frigate, was wrecked at Lizard Point. Of a crew of 185 only three survived; lost was Lord Belhaven who was en route to take up the Governorship of Barbados.
A 44-gun frigate, HMS Anson, was wrecked at Loe Bar in 1807. Although it wrecked close to shore, many lost their lives in the storm. This inspired Henry Trengrouse to invent the rocket-fired line, later to become the Breeches buoy.
The transport ship Dispatch ran aground on the Manacles in 1809 on its return from the Peninsular War, losing 104 men from the 7th Hussars. The following day, with local villagers still attempting a rescue, the Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Primrose hit the northern end of these rocks. The only survivor of its 126 officers, men and boys was a drummer boy.
5 Sept 1856 the Cherubim and Ocean Home collided off Lizard Point
The SS Mohegan, a 6,889 GRT passenger liner, also hit the Manacles in 1898 with the loss of 106 lives.
The American passenger liner Paris was stranded on the Manacles in 1899, with no loss of life.
The biggest rescue in the RNLI's history was 17 March 1907 when the 12,000-tonne liner SS Suevic hit the Maenheere Reef near Lizard Point in Cornwall. In a strong gale and dense fog RNLI lifeboat volunteers rescued 456 passengers, including 70 babies. Crews from the Lizard, Cadgwith, Coverack and Porthleven rowed out repeatedly for 16 hours to rescue all of the people on board. Six silver RNLI medals were later awarded, two to Suevic crew members.
The Battle at the Lizard, a naval battle, took place off The Lizard on 21 October 1707.
Smuggling was a regular, and often necessary, way of life in these parts, despite the efforts of coastguards or "Preventive men". In 1801, the king's pardon was offered to any smuggler giving information on the Mullion musket men involved in a gunfight with the crew of HM Gun Vessel Hecate.
Avionic
In the First World War a Naval Air Station was established at Bonython, flying mainly blimps used for spotting U-boats. One was sunk and several probably damaged by bombs dropped by the blimps. The airfield site is now occupied by the wind farm.
RAF Predannack Down (see Predannack Airfield) was a Second World War airbase, from which Coastal Command squadrons flew anti-submarine sorties into the Bay of Biscay as well as convoy support in the western English Channel. The runways still exist and the site is used by a local Air Cadet Volunteergliding Squadron 626VGS and as an emergency/relief base for RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk).
RNAS Culdrose is Europe's largest helicopter base, and currently hosts the Training and Operational Conversion Unit operating the EH101 "Merlin" helicopter. It is also the home base for Merlin Squadrons embarked upon Royal Navy warships, the Westland Sea King airborne early warning (AEW) variant helicopter, a Search And Rescue (Sea King, again) helicopter flight, and some BAe Hawk T.1 trainer jets used for training purposes by the Royal Navy. The base also operates some other types of fixed wing aircraft for calibration and other training purposes. As befits the base's name, a non-flying example of a Hawker Sea Hawk forms the main gate guardian static display. RNAS Culdrose is a major contributor to the economy of The Lizard area.
Political
The Lizard peninsula is in the St Ives parliamentary constituency (which comprises the whole of the former district of Penwith and the southern part of the former district of Kerrier). However, the parishes northeast of the Helford River are in Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency
To the north, The Lizard peninsula is bordered by the civil parishes of Breage, Porthleven, Sithney, Helston, Wendron, Gweek and – across the Helford River – by Constantine, Kerrier and Mawnan.
The parishes on the peninsula proper are (west to east):
Northern parishes:
Gunwalloe
Cury
Mawgan-in-Meneage
St Martin-in-Meneage
Manaccan
St Anthony-in-Meneage
Southern parishes:
Mullion
Grade-Ruan
St Keverne
Landewednack
The Lizard's political history includes the 1497 Cornish rebellion which began in St Keverne. The village blacksmith Michael Joseph (Michael An Gof in Cornish, meaning blacksmith) led the uprising, protesting against the punitive taxes levied by Henry VII to pay for the war against the Scots. The uprising was routed on its march to London and the two leaders, Michael Joseph and Thomas Flamank, were subsequently hanged, drawn and quartered.
Technological
Titanium was discovered here by the Reverend William Gregor in 1791.
In 1869, John Pender formed the Falmouth Gibraltar and Malta Telegraph company, intending to connect India to England with an undersea cable. Although intended to land at Falmouth, the final landing point was Porthcurno near Land's End.
In 1900 Guglielmo Marconi stayed the Housel Bay Hotel in his quest to locate a coastal radio station to receive signals from ships equipped with his apparatus. He leased a plot "in the wheat field adjoining the hotel" where the Lizard Wireless Telegraph Station still stands today. Recently restored by the National Trust, it looks as it did in January 1901, when Marconi received the distance record signals of 186 miles (299 km) from his transmitter station at Niton, Isle of Wight. The Lizard Wireless Station is the oldest Marconi station to survive in its original state, and is located to the west of the Lloyds Signal Station in what appears to be a wooden hut. On 12 December 1901 Poldhu Point was the site of the first trans Atlantic, wireless signal radio communication when Marconi sent a signal to St John's, Newfoundland. The technology is one of the key advances to the development of radio, television, satellites and the internet.
A radar station called RAF Dry Tree was built during World War II. The site was later chosen for the Telstar project in 1962; its rocky foundations, clear atmosphere and extreme southerly location being uniquely suitable. This became the Goonhilly satellite earth station, now owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd. Some important developments in television satellite transmission were made at Goonhilly station. A wind farm exists near to the Goonhilly station site.
Geology
Known as the Lizard Complex, the peninsula's geology is the best preserved example of an exposed ophiolite in the United Kingdom.
An ophiolite is a suite of geological formations which represent a slice through a section of ocean crust (including the upper level of the mantle) thrust onto the continental crust.
The Lizard formations comprise three main units; the serpentinites, the "oceanic complex" and the metamorphic basement. The serpentinite contains significant samples of the serpentine polymorph lizardite, which were named after the Lizard complex in 1955.
Ecology
Several nature sites exist on the Lizard Peninsula; Predannack nature reserve, Mullion Island, Goonhilly Downs, and the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. An area of the Lizard covering 16.62 square kilometres (6.42 sq mi) is designated a national nature reserve because of its coastal grasslands and heaths and inland heaths. The peninsula contains 3 main Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), both noted for their endangered insects and plants, as well as their geology. The first is East Lizard Heathlands SSSI, the second is Caerthillian to Kennack SSSI and the third is West Lizard SSSI, of which the important wetland, Hayle Kimbro Pool, forms a part of.
The area is also home to one of England's rarest breeding birds — the Cornish chough. This species of corvid is distinctive due to its red beak and legs and haunting "chee-aw" call. Choughs were extinct in Cornwall but returned naturally in 2001 and began breeding on Lizard in 2002 following a concerted effort by the National Trust, English Nature and the RSPB.
The Lizard contains some of the most specialised flora of any area in Britain, including many Red Data Book plant species. Of particular note is the Cornish heath, Erica vagans, that occurs in abundance here, but which is found nowhere else in Britain. There are more than 600 species of flowering plants on the Lizard, nearly a quarter of all UK species. The reason for this richness is partly because of the many different and unusual Lizard rocks on the Lizard Peninsula. But above all, it is a coming together of multiple factors: a very mild maritime climate, but one prone to gales and salt winds; waterlogged and boggy soils, but ones that often parch and dry out in the summer; soils of greatly contrasting fertility and pH; and lastly man's influence. Any single factor taken on its own would influence the flora; taken together, they combine, overlap and interact. Contrasting plant communities grow side-by-side in a mosaic that changes within a few metres but also changes markedly over time with the cycle of heath fires. It's not so much that conditions are ideal for growth, but that there is such a variety of different, difficult conditions. Each habitat, with its own combination of factors, attracts its own specialist plants. It is also one of the few places where the rare formicine ant, Formica exsecta, (the narrow-headed ant), can be found.
Portrayal in literature, film and music
Daphne du Maurier based many novels on this part of Cornwall, including Frenchman's Creek.
The Lizard was featured on the BBC television programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the South West, and on the BBC series Coast.
In James Clavell's novel Shōgun, ship's pilot Vasco Rodrigues challenges John Blackthorne to recite the latitude of the Lizard to verify that Blackthorne is the Pilot of the Dutch vessel Erasmus.
The Jennifer McQuiston 2015 novel The Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior is set primarily in the fictional village Lizard Bay on the Lizard in the mid-nineteenth century.
In the television adaptation of "Horatio Hornblower", an order is given to "Weather the Lizard" in the episode Hornblower:Mutiny.
"Lizard Point" is also a track on the 1982 album Ambient 4: On Land released by Brian Eno.
The book series "Fenton House" by Ben Cheetham is set on the Lizard Peninsula.
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhus are considered as militant groups of Hindus for safeguarding Hinduism and India from foreign invaders. They mostly live in Himalayan Caves and they appear during the time of Kumbh Mela. They never disturb or kill any innocent people of the Society. Naga Sadhus are mostly half clothed Saints, long Jata on their heads. Their faces are always covered with ash. (Quora)
Starting on January 15, 2019, and lasting until March 4, 2019, the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela will take place in Allahabad, India. Authorities are expecting approximately 100 million visitors to come for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers.
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhus are considered as militant groups of Hindus for safeguarding Hinduism and India from foreign invaders. They mostly live in Himalayan Caves and they appear during the time of Kumbh Mela. They never disturb or kill any innocent people of the Society. Naga Sadhus are mostly half clothed Saints, long Jata on their heads. Their faces are always covered with ash. (Quora)
Starting on January 15, 2019, and lasting until March 4, 2019, the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela will take place in Allahabad, India. Authorities are expecting approximately 100 million visitors to come for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers.
Kumbh | 2019
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019 According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Kumbh | 2019
Prayagraj Ardh Kumbh Mela, 2019 is the Ardh Kumbh Mela to being held at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India from 15 January to 4 March 2019 According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Allahabad, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The river-side fair at Allahabad is centuries old, but its association with the kumbha myth and a 12-year old cycle dates back to the 19th century. The priests of Allahabad borrowed these concepts from the Haridwar Kumbh Mela and applied it to their local Magh Mela, an annual celebration. The Magh Mela probably dates back to the early centuries CE, and has been mentioned in several Puranas.
Allahabad - Prayagraj
Naga Sadhus are considered as militant groups of Hindus for safeguarding Hinduism and India from foreign invaders. They mostly live in Himalayan Caves and they appear during the time of Kumbh Mela. They never disturb or kill any innocent people of the Society. Naga Sadhus are mostly half clothed Saints, long Jata on their heads. Their faces are always covered with ash. (Quora)
Starting on January 15, 2019, and lasting until March 4, 2019, the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela will take place in Allahabad, India. Authorities are expecting approximately 100 million visitors to come for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers.
An Indian Naga sadhu (Hindu holy man) dries his hair after taking a holy bath at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival, in Allahabad, 23 January 2007. Hundreds and thousands of devotees and Hindu holy men take part in the largest religious congregation on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during Ardh Kumb mela (fair) in January 2007, which falls every sixth year.