Mini Baba, a photo from Uttar Pradesh, North

Photographer's Note

Nagas gathering to return to their Akharas after a dawn dip in the holy sangam. The Kumbha Mela at Allahabad has been held every 12 years since 3464 BC. In 2001 some 70 million pilgrims made their way to the 6-week long gathering, the holiest in all of Hinduism. Amazing how a spectacle of such size and scope remains largely unknown in the West.

robiuk, sohrab, Deke, eleparc, DaveMacPhee heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

robiuk (10807) 2004-08-25 17:19

I like this one a lot! Colours are very earthy and the exposure chosen reveals fine details in shadow.
The note is educative. Please keep posting!
Thank you!

sohrab (7439) 2004-08-26 2:48

hi benett
im really enjoying your series of the kumbh mela. actually this festival is not so unknown in the west. there is a lot of press coverage here during this time. yes it may not be as big as the olympics and all, but i dont think it is that unknown. on my trop to south east asia i met a lot of travellers who had heard about this mela. moreover most of the world's best photojournalists cover this mela. there is a flood of photographers here from agencies like magnum, vu, associated press, reuters etc.
take care and keep posting

maciekda (19895) 2004-08-26 3:53

nice shot, interesting person, a step left would help - the other baba would not be behind the small one. good stuff

Deke (708) 2004-08-26 4:02

Very interesting shot and notes, I don't know much about this event but I do recall some mainstream media coverage here in UK and being amazed at the numbers of people involved. This man, the subject of your photo, looks amazingly powerful and confident in spite of his deformity. A fascinating comparison with the man behind being of 'normal' stature yet looking skinny, even emaciated. These are challenges to our perceptions of normality.

eleparc (24063) 2004-09-03 4:23

greta shot! did he sleep on a barrel or what?? lol your DOF is spot on this little man... some real strength comes out of him, I am totally fascinated! if i catch your drift perfectly, the next occurence will be in 2013?

rinusj (64) 2004-09-12 16:48