And if you are Swami Nityanandji, Chandrasawmi ji or even Pilot Baba or the Hare Rama Hare Krishna , the opulence hits you in the face and the Kumbh is about the rich poor divide .
I documented the Maha Kumbh and I saw the hardships of the poor groups of Naga Sadhus fleeced by the contractors , no transparency , and sheer demand of money ..
But I found solace in these small tents of Naga Sadhus The Avhani and the Agni Akhara ..they were hospitable offered you meals and if the meals were over they would cook fresh.
They never asked for money donation but if you gave it to them they accepted it willingly , the Naga Babas with foreign disciples mostly photographers paid lavishly they had to get pictures and joining the Naga Baba was access to the Shahi Snan too,
The facilities at the Maha Kumbh were bad the rickshawallahs charged a bomb no fare regulation and the cops did not care a damn..
The poor who slept on the banks roads faced the fury of the rains and ran helter skelter , I distributed blankets to the poor and I did it in the night when they were asleep and just covered them and moved away this was my bit ,, a very small bit .
And shooting the Kumbh if you are a people photographer is a memorable experience ,,,I met Tantriks I met aghoris I met all kinds of Sadhus ,,
It was a pity because of my work I could only shoot Basant Panchami and had to return back,,
At the Nasik Kumbh Ramkundh I was clueless because of my attire the heartless blokes were no willing to give me a Kumbh Press Card ,, and it was the foreign photographers that were given precedence and it is sad that being an Indian they treat you like a piece of shit ,,
And that is the level of Indian bureaucracy that judges a book by its cover .
Now I live with the Nagas and dont have to suffer fools ,,
