I was here for a few hours as I was staying with the Naga Sadhus at Sadhugram Trimbakeshwar all this was shot on 28 August , and I took permission from my host my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj before making this trip to Nasikh Ramkund about 27 km away from Trimbakeshwar by bus ,,
From the bus depot I took a sharing ricksha that dropped me at Panchwati and I walked into the Kumbh ,, I had shot the Nasikh Kumbh Mela 2003 several trips at Ramkund ,, I shot the bathing ghats , I shot the beggars of Ramkund being served batata wada by rich folks .
There is a lot of street shots from the ghats till the sharing ricksha stand to reach Tapovan the residential Akhara of the various Vaishnab Sadhus ,,I was quite surprised to meet the Aghoris here , but they are like nomads moving from place to place asking for food and alms.
At Tapovan you can shoot myriads of faces portraits of the Sadhus , the pilgrims ,,a lot of bathing shots at Tapovan waters .. there is a Shiva temple on the hills above I skipped it because of my leg injury.. and I shot over a 900 images here a few videos ,, but if you want to shoot Naga Sadhus than Trimbakeshwar Neel Parbhat and Brahma Giri are the two places you will find them in plenty .. in the mornings they come to bathe at the Trimbakeshwar Kund ,,on normal days too.
A lot of street photography at Trimbakeshwar ,,3 km away from Trimbakeshwar is Pengal Wadi the other main Sadhugram of the Naga Sadhus and here too you can shoot a lot ,,I stayed here ,, most of the Naga Sadhus are Maharashtrians ,, a lot of farmers are their followers and disciples dressed in white with Gandhi topis ,, their sad faces and the overwhelming sadness of their farmer wives can kill you ..they are searching for a straw before they eventually drown thanks to the apathy of our state and central government ..the one thing you can be sure you can always get something to eat at the tents of the Sadhus they are extremely bound by the mantra of Devo Atithi Bhava ,,hospitality is the essence of their humility ,,
Yes I have not yet got over this euphoric moment called the Kumbh Mela ,if you are a photographer and have not shot the Kumbh than you have missed a vital link in your future repertoire ,, this was my third Kumbh ,, my second at Nasikh..
If it was humanly possible I would go again and again and again..
