Every face on the road leading to Bhuki Mata Mandir or the Temple Of Maha Kal has something to say ,,etched on the skin of the Sadhus face is the history of his race ,,,every minute detail every trace ..within and on the surface ,,,God is here God is there God is every place ,,,he waits on the Banks of the Shipra , a dip in the waters God he will embrace ,,,blessed by the saffron rays of the Sun...love and grace .
I spent hours on end shooting people ,,, I stopped some I cajoled pleaded but I shot faces ,,, I was re discovering photography once again I just wanted to penetrate the sanctity of the Sadhus eye ..his comic quest his cosmic destination... all at one time .
My Guru was perplexed when he walked with me and I shot the naked Naga Baba he chided me did you not shoot him yesterday ,,,why are you shooting him again.. I smiled I replied my camera cant resist shooting the Naga Sadhus .
And now as I write this my Guru must be resting after the 9 May Second Shahi Snan on the Shipra ,,I could not make it ,, my body is in Mumbai my disembodied spirit is in Ujjain.
Photography has not been merely shooting pictures it is a documentation of a way of life of the Naga Sadhus ,,
But at the same time I also need money to be at the Kumbh ,, I could not live empty handed on the hospitality of my Guru..
I fed the poor I tried to do as much as I could ,, and I cleansed myself in more way than one ,,,
There was a lot of things I wanted to do at the Kumbh but it was not possible in a few days ,,,
Getting a train ticket to Ujjain and back to Mumbai was very difficult ...
And I am not sure whether I will make it for the third final Shahi Snan on 21 May 2016.
