I Get Blessed by the Naga Sadhu

The Nagas Are Coming . Har Har Mahadev

As a photographer my genre is peoples photography with relevance to culture rituals occult possession and exorcism..I have shot the genre beyond the borders of caste color or creed ,, I shoot Faith as it moves Mountains that come in its way,, I am fascinated by the Naga Sadhus ,, shooting the Maha Kumbh 2013 Nasikh Kumbh 2003 and Nasikh Kumbh 2015 was easily falicitated because of my connection with my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Juna Akhara ,, perhaps I am his only Muslim disciple ,,and highly privileged for being part of this greatest event on Earth.. My Guru invites me much before the Kumbh begins ,, and I am indebted to him as a photographer ,, he gives me shelter a place to stay and has never asked me for a penny though I contribute what I can in all humility and gratitude ,, his disciples go out of their way to help me respectfully even the Nagas in his fold call me Malang Baba nobody calls me by my name ever ,,

These are pictures shot on the streets of Trimbakeshwar on the day of the 29 August Shahi Snan.. it went off very smoothly thanks to the Nasikh adminstration and the Maharashtra Police and the pilgrims and residents ..

My First Bottle of Water On Shahi Snan Day

I was shooting the Shahi Snan for 4 hours and I desperately needed water but there was no drinking water inside the Kund ,, and when I stepped out of the Kund I saw this half open shop and bought a bottle ,,I have till date posted 2500 images at Flickr ,,My account is marked Safe and all my frontal nudity pictures of the Naga Sadhus are restricted at Flickr ,,

I strictly follow Flickr guidelines and at Facebook I follow their terms regulations as regards my nude Naga Sadhu pictures ,,

At Ello only those who want to see Adult content can see my pictures and Ello has a much better display and viewing ..

I am lazy I have hardly posted any of my stuff at my Kumbh Mela blogspot site .

I still have a lot of pictures to upload and only God knows if I will go back again to shoot the next two Shahi Snans at Nasikh..I have to get in touch with my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj 18 Madi Juna Akhara.

The Peaceful Muslims Of Bandra

He stays near the Bandra Reclamation Sunni Mosque and we became friendly a few months back since I started walking at the MET Grounds and this is the short cut through the beef market that exits out via the mosque at Bandra Reclamation..
He is a migrant and a self made man from UP lives in Bandra since 60 years , when I pass him by he is reading the Urdu papers or having a shave and I love to shoot him , the kindness of his face and his humble personality ,,and sometimes I blog about him ..he inquires about my family my grandkids , and I really miss him when he goes to visit his hometown.
I would have never met him had I not taken this route for my walks as I normally went for my walks via Lal Mitti main Bandra Reclamation road. His name is Ahad Bhai I think he deals in construction materials and has a shop near the mosque.
We get along pretty well ..we dont talk religion , we dont talk about politics or the weather ,,, we just greet each other ,and we are both Bandraites ,, we were not born in Bandra ,,, but Bandra was born in us ,,, cosmically ,,,and intrinsically ,.

The Magic of The Shahi Snan Trimbakeshwar ,,2015

I was stuck beneath the Press enclosure and I had Jeetendra from Reuters for company , I tried not to get too adventurous , in moving from the place where I stood as I believed I was lucky to be inside the Kund as I shoot a storyboard I thought I would be happy with what I get and I did not want to be conspicuous I merged with the heavy saffron background ,, and here too I have restricted my frontal nudity of the Naga Sadhus in keeping with Flickr guidelines ,, as Flickr is the source and archive of my 349000 images .

When I first shot the naked Naga Sadhus at Flickr in 2003 all my pictures were moderated by Flickr staff I tried to explain to them about the culture of the Naga Sadhu their nakedness as part of their religiosity but Flickr refused to budge and till day those pictures are restricted .

And I understand that there are kids on Flickr and coy ladies who might take offense so I moderate my pictures accordingly ,,my entire bulk of Maha Kumbh pictures of the Shahi Snan are of the naked Naga Sadhus and they are all restricted ,, only Flickr members can see them..

So being a people photographer shooting culture rituals one has to self moderate your stuff however good prolific photographer you are ,,

I simply follow Flickr guidelines ,,

Documenting Nasikh Kumbh Shahi Snan Trimbakeshwar 2015

Documenting Hope And Hindutva ,, Nasik Kumbh Trimbakeshwar 2015

Unless you are a Press person , I think getting into the Trimbakeshwar Kund during the time allotted for the Juna Akhara Naga Sadhus is almost next to impossible , and once you do manage to enter the Kund it is impossible to get a vantage position to shoot it is totally packed despite each Akhara being allowed in turn.. and the cops and the volunteers of the Kund will be hounding you every time ,,
The Press enclosure is like a virtual fish market , and the hotshots wont ever let you breach their space and if you do manage to get some space they will bully you out of it ,, there is no compassion or mercy in the photo journalist world ,, it is each one for himself ,,, and I shot an entire 32 GB card here RAW and JPEG and once the Naga Akharas had done their dip I left too I was not greedy for more ,, I got what I wanted though I missed taking my dip as my Naga Guru and I lost each other in the onrush. I had no regrets but I know had I taken the Dip I would have to follow my Guru back to our tent at Sadhugram.. Even at the Maha Kumbh I had to follow him back from the dip at the Sangam on Shahi Snan Day Basant Panchami .

I guess the Gods helped the photographer in me I had carried a 50 mm lens and 18 135 I missed my telly lens , I was told by my Guru not to carry a bag at the Kund ,, so I had just a waist pouch.. and the chant of Har Har Mahadev urging pushing me forward ,, And after I have completed this Shahi Snan lot I will post pictures of Ramkund and Tapovan.. at Panchvati Nasikh ,, all part of my Kumbh Mela Nasikh 2015 ,, Hope and Hindutva set .. My Hindu Blogs ,,