Scissor Hand Poor Street Barbers of Bandra

Novena Of Our Lady Of Velankani Bandra Bazar Road

Hindu Jagran Manch Please Remove My Picture From Your Post

Hindu Jagran Manch have used my picture in their post without my permission,. http://www.hindujagruti.org/campaigns/obey-high-court-order-impose-ban-on-offering-namaz-at-public-places#petition … @ShelarAshish

reply to a comment on my post at Facebook

They have used it for their agenda of stopping the namaz on the roads I did not shoot it for that purpose I dont politicize religion,, they have an issue they should ask their photographer to shoot it ,, you cant take my picture mention my name without taking my permission perhaps you dont know the basic ethics of blogging etiquette I have nothing against their agenda or their petition it is a free country all I know the namaz outside the Bandra Station on eid has been performed since ages ,, with due permission from the police and the concerned authorities ,,I dont want my picture on their website ,, simple .

The Naga Sadhu Procession To Neel Parbhat Trimbakeshwar

This was perhaps the most strenuous , tiring shoot I was barefeet and limping with an injured foot I had walked over 4 km with this procession .. I had to keep pace with them and the most difficult part was not the Naga Sadhus but the cops deliberately pushing us away , and most of them were cadets cops from rural areas they just did not know how to take command , most of them were in awe of their new surroundings .,.but all in all this was a great shoot and from here the procession of the Naga sadhus moved to Neel Parbhat , the Nagas than took a dip in a small pond and the event came to a close ,, I trudged my way back I had neither eaten nor drunk water ,,, as I started walking back to Trimbakeshwar bus depot there was another huge procession of the Udasin and Khalsa Akhara coming towards the temple town so the bus service had been halted I shot this procession too and walked back to my Naga camp another 3 km away ,,,

Luckily one of my Naga Gurus deaf mute disciple cleaned my wound and massaged my tired legs ,,,I realized I was an old man and had lost my adventurous spirit but I shot thousands of images .. as is where is I delete nothing those are my efforts soaked in my blood sweat and tears ,,,

My Nasik Kumbh Mela 2015 Set At Flickr

photo shot by Ajay Rawat at Nasikh Kumbh 2015

Flickr Nasik Kumbh Mela Set 

The Naga Sadhu Procession To Neel Parbhat Trimbakeshwar

This was the most strenuous shoot much before the Shahi Snan , I followed the Naga Sadhu procession barefeet on an injured leg.. and I was thankful to have the company of my Facebook friend  CS Shelare ..I shot this procession till the end at Neel Parbhat ,,

Walking back tired and in real bad shape near the Trimbakeshwar Bus Depot I met another Udasin Akhara procession , the buses too had been halted because of this new procession so I decided to shoot it too.

The World of Sadhus Trimbakeshwar

Perhaps because I was wearing Sadhu garbs while documenting the Nasikh Kumbh 2015 and perhaps because I looked more like a mystic than the mystics I shot ,,I got access to the inner being of my photography subjects ,, my camera did not bother them at all .

And as  I was staying in a Naga Sadhu camp , made a big difference too I could walk into any tent ,, I also shot the camp of Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth Swami Swaroop Anandji..

Neither was I hassled by cops I spoke Marathi and they were extremely polite I always had a Press Card round my neck  just in case ,,though I knew the Maharashtrian police cadre could not be as insensitive as the Malwani cops ,,

I was not very adventurous this Kumbh as I was at the Maha Kumbh Allahabad , that had a huge Juna Akhara at Sector 4  .. here the Juna Akhara was on Brahmagiri a long steep walk of 2.5 hours and Neel Parbhat ,, I had shot the latter ,,

My Tantric Guru Kapoor Khamakhya was at the Kumbh but we could not meet , he is the most powerfully connected Sadhu of the Yoni Order ,, this was one regret ,, I did not meet my French photographer friend Laurent Salesse .

This being my third Kumbh I did not face many hurdles and hopefully if things settle my end I might just go back.. all depends .. on the guy at the top.. Neeli Chatriwale ..

In India Dalit Leaders Became Multi Millionaires While The Poor Dalit Remains a Sweeper All Her Life

The Cosmic World Of The Naga Sadhus

I had visited Tapovan the abode of the Vaishnav Sadhus .. colloquially called Bairagis ,, I shot a lot of them though I was here only for a few hours ,, but I was not excited as I was shooting the Naga Sadhus at Trimbakeshwar.. I got along well with them  at the Sadhugram where I stayed with my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Triveni Juna Akhara 18 Madi I had become friendly with most of the Nagas who would pose for me and I found that the Maharashtrian Naga Sadhus were more cultured polite in their humility ..and followed the dictum of Devo Atithi Bahava ,,,Most of their followers were Maharashtrian farmers their wives who had come for far off areas to pay tribute to their Gurus and lived with them in their Tents .

My Naga Guru had disciples from Hyderabad , Mumbai Rajasthan Gujrat and more are expected to come before the Kumbh ends ..

Shree Vijay Giri my Naga Guru is from Karnataka ,,Mangalore and one of his disciples a young boy deaf mute would be at my beck and call, touching my feet , and when he saw the injury on my leg.. he immediately cleaned my wound , pressed massaged my swollen legs ,, I would give him money but he would take it reluctantly ,,, his love was humanly awesome ,, almost everyone including the cook Bhandari saw that I was well taken care of while leaving for Mumbai I gave him my saffron shirt that I had bought at Trimbakeshwar ,.. he was happy beyond words ,,most of these guys are poor ,
Another disciple has a single leg and he walked from the Shahi Snan on crutches .. his name was Nandlal.

Mahesh Bhardwaj from Rishikesh principal disciple of ,my Guru took care of the new guests that came every day ,,

The Kumbh is a unique experience even as a photographer I had responsibilities of work I had to get back..I was missing my granddaughters too.

I mostly shot portraits ,, and now my next lot of pictures will be restricted from public view at Flickr..

I Was Destined To Shoot The Nasik Kumbh Trimbakeshwar 2015

The Worlds Greatest Event Kumbh Mela Nasikh 2015

Nasik Kumbh Mela is celebrated when Jupiter and the sun falls on the zodiac sign, Leo. Find out information on Kumbh Mela Celebrations at Trimbakeshwar, Nasik.

Kumbh Mela is one of the hallowed festivals of India and is organized at a big scale. According to the scholars, it is believed that when Gods and demons were having fight over the nectar then Lord Vishnu flew away with the pot of nectar spilling drops of nectar at four different places; where we celebrate Kumbh melas, those places were Hardwar, Nasik, Ujjain and Prayag.


The celebration of Kumbh Mela depends on the position of Jupiter (Brhaspati) and the sun. When the Sun is in Aries (Mesh Rashi) and Jupiter in Aquarius, it is celebrated in Haridwar. When Jupiter is in Taurus (Vrishabha Rashi) and the Sun is in Capricorn (Makar Rashi), then kumbh is celebrated at Prayag. Mela is celebrated in Ujjain when Jupiter and the Sun are in Scorpio (Vrishchik Rashi). It is said that when the Jupiter and the sun falls on the zodiac sign, Leo; then Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik. Kumbh Mela is celebrated with great pomp and show, crowd gets crazy and scenario of the fare is breath taking. Devotees congregate and perform several rites and rituals. Numbers of ceremonies are performed like religious discussions, devotional singing, mass feeding of holy men and women and poor, out of which bathing is considered as most sacred and takes place at the bank of river in every town, where Kumbh is celebrated.

Kumbh Mela Celebrations At Trimbakeshwar
Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Trimbakeshwar in Nashik which is in Maharashtra. Trimbakeshwar is a holy town of Nasik as one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, Triyambakeshwar Jyotirlinga temple is situated there. Kumbh Mela in Nasik is celebrated once in every twelve years and is known as Sinhasta.

According to mythological stories and verses of epics the drops of Amrita or nectar fell at the Godavari River in Nasik when Lord Vishnu flew from earth to heaven after Samudra Manthan. That is the reason why the place is considered sacred and is of great importance amongst Hindus. In the lunar month of Magh when Sun and Jupiter are in Leo (Singh Rashi) zodiac sign Kumbh Mela is held at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik. The fair is celebrated with full passion and keenness in Nasik as one can evidence and about millions of pilgrims come here to wash away their sins in the holy river, Godavari. The two bathing ghats, Ramkund and Kushavarta holy reservoirs appreciate faith and belief of thousands of sadhus, holy men and millions of pilgrims as they take dips in holy River Godavari on the specific date and at specific time. As the administration is aware of the dates they start arranging accommodation facilities for the pilgrims who comes from all walks of life. The panorama of this festive season is worth watching.

Nasik Kumbh Mela Dates
As Kumbh Mela is celebrated in every twelve years in Nasik; last time it was celebrated in 2003, which resulted into an incredible festive season for the people of Maharashtra in particular and people of India in general. People get away from their routine schedules and experienced spiritual ecstasy during Kumbh days. In 2015, Nasik will again get an opportunity to host guests from every spot of the country and from all walks of life as Kumbh Mela will be held in Nasik from July 14 to September 25 of that year.

Nasik Kumbh Mela Schedule of Events
14th July 2015 (Tuesday): Flag hoisting of the main ceremony at Ram Kunda
14th August 2015 (Friday): Flag hoisting of the Akhara at Sadhugram
26th August 2015 (Wednesday): Shravan Shudha- First Snan
29th August 2015 (Saturday): Shravan Purnima - First Shahi Snan at Ram Kunda
13th September 2015 (Sunday): Bhadrapad Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan/ Main bathing day
18th September 2015 (Friday): Bhadrapad Shukla Panchmi (Rushipanchami) - Third Shahi Snan
25th September 2015 (Friday): Bhadrapad Shukla Dwadashi - Vaman Dwadashi Snan

www.kumbhamela.net/kumbha-mela-nasik.html