It's all over... Kumbh Mela 2013

For the last couple of months we have been captivated by the nagas and Holy men and millions and millions of every day pilgrims from across India who have been converging on the Ganges near Allahabad to bathe.  Sadly though, as of this weekend, the Kumbh Mela 2013 is over.  We have prepared a couple of videos (see links below) and here is our re-cap as this incredible spectacle, the largest gathering in the world came to a close. 
The logistics of putting on such a major event includes crowd control.  This naga is relaxed and happy to please the crowds during his bathing day but nagas typically live a very different lifestyle, well away away from every day people and some get pretty impatient, sometimes violent when faced with hordes of people wanting to be blessed, to speak to them, to disturb them from what they have come to the Ganges to do.  The police have a tough job balancing the wishes of everyone but sadly, there were fatalities.

It is impossible to capture the mood of millions and millions of people, (some say the total over the period exceeds 80 million and 30 million pilgrims bathe on the main Royal Bathing Day), down on the Ganges.  The noise, the excitement and the spiritual commitment to bathe on these particularly auspicious days are quite extraordinary.  Lots of male haircuts take place before the bathing, with hair being donated to the rivers along with coins.  Ingenious kids rig up magnets to then go and retrieve the coins!








Despite thousands of temporary loos for the public and all the loos at the miles and miles of temporary camps that are put up solely for the event, it's impossible to have sufficient capacity, sanitation is a real issue given the 80 million plus people.  Studies have shown the pollution of the river definitely picks up after the festival which isn't surprising, and it's not from people doing their ablutions directly in the river, it's due to seepage and run off from the soil into the river.

Sadly, thousands of children lose their parents in the crowds and parents lose grandparents and some of these losses are 'losses'.  It becomes a bit of a dumping ground for the poor who cannot make ends meet and the 'lost party' is often illiterate and cannot explain where they live as it is often many states away and they have never been away from home before.  Throughout the Kumbh Mela, a lady is heard announcing all the lost and founds on the loud speaker.  With no social security, the lost kids and grandparents, if not re-united, have to fend for themselves, whichever way is possible.  How terribly tragic is that?

Hanging out with some of the Holy men, especially the nagas who live naked lives, was particularly interesting.  Mostly good natured, they kindly gave us an insight into their usual lifestyle.



The strength of the Holy men is proved by various feats: lying in thorns, living with your hand raised, not cutting finger nails and some really unusual feats by the naked nagas!  See the videos for those party tricks!




On February 16th, thankfully the day after the last of the three really big Royal Bathing Days (when all the sadhus bathe), the heavens opened up and it rained heavily, non-stop for almost 24 hours.  Dare I say it, it was Biblical rain which was worth photographing - we must pull out the shots we took.  This made life at the camps pretty miserable, so many of our tents were flooded, let alone the very basic camps.  A lot of the sadhus took the opportunity to pack up and start heading back home and to the routined lifestyle they really prefer.  Pilgrims continued to come and go, bathing in the Holy Ganges and now, it really is all over for another three years but we're already planning our next adventure with the nagas and babas!

Here are a couple of short videos we put together on this year's Kumbh.





Namaste.

Julie and Adam
March 2013

India in Mono

India is so colourful you don't tend to think about mono images, however we think with those large, descriptive eyes and whenever there is lower contrast, albeit there may be colour, there is an argument for some black and white!


A pair of nagas back at camp after the Royal Bathing (Kumbh Mela - February 2013), one smoking, the other we just managed to catch staring straight into the lens.  Their faces are still covered in ash after the bathing.


These wide-eyed kids were in a classroom in Rajasthan, they were quite curious of the camera.


Kids playing in central India, originally shot in colour.  It's all about the girl but because of the composition, the ghosting of the boy on the right hand side gives a nice effect in mono.


A trainee sadhu, his face whitened and after the Royal Bathing, (Kumbh Mela 2013).


This girl near Bandhavgar, (Tiger country), captured my heart with her serious stare into the lens.  


There's no escaping naked nagas or the enthusiasm of the Holy men running to bathe in the Holy rivers.  this was my first glimpse of them which was before sunrise and I like the blur of the poor light and their movement.

So I do think mono works, even in india.  There's a time and a place.  It's quite 'documentary,' it's impactful with those large brown eyes and it's a nice contrast to the bursting with colour shots we tend to chase in India, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs10VJlS_nY

Julie and Adam
March 2013


Bikram Yoga and Kumbh Mela

Well, after a couple of weeks in India to see the Kumbh Mela and then a few days relaxing in a quiet corner of Rajasthan, it's back to London and back to hot Bikram yoga.  Really tough after a couple of weeks off!  Still, if I persevere, I hope to.....

 Be as cool as this baba jee, my favourite baba of the trip.  And I think he quite fancied me as well!


Look as good as these two when I'm having a facial. 


Be able to walk for miles and miles like these pilgrims, even bare feet, without complaining!


And get butt cheeks like the chap below.


Become more creative in thought, 



And not mind cold water, like this little fellow after his (probably first) bathe in the holy waters of the Ganges.


Grow my nails.

          
Oh, and strike a pose.

All taken at the Kumbh Mela this year.

Julie
February 2013

Kumbh Mela, February 2013



We are just back from Kumbh Mela, near Allahabad, India. What a festival! Mark Twain, on his visit to Kumbh Mela back in 1895 said:

It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites.” 

We agree! With something like 60 million people making the pilgrimage, it is the largest gathering of people in the world. We walked several hours each day, soaking up the atmosphere, taking lots of shots, and returned back to camp completely knackered, not able to walk any more that day. Yet pilgrims walk incredible distances to get to the Kumbh Mela, without complaint or seeming to tire. Quite incredible.

   

 Shooting is difficult as the police kettle the crowd away from the nagas, babas and sadhus, many of whom live reclusive lives and don't spend much if any time with regular people. So for the first time in our lives, we were in the middle of police, a crowd of millions and some pretty wild behaviour. Just because of the number of people and the strong presence of police, it felt like being in the middle of a protest or riot, fearful of being trampled and yet the mood was peaceful and positive. Quite extraordinary. And some of the behaviour of the nagas and babas was pretty extraordinary: take a look at the video link.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs10VJlS_nY

  

More to follow about this incredible festival as we wade through all the images.

Julie and Adam

February 2013

Samburu Celebration


Samburu are semi nomadic pastoralists, herding mainly cattle but they also keep sheep, goats and camels. The elders rule the roost, the youngers fear being cursed by them. The morans (younger men) don't make the important decisions but they are tasked with protecting the village. Food-wise, they rely mostly on their herds - so fresh or fermented milk and there are 13 plus ways to prepare blood. Women do a lot of the work! Similar to the Masai in many ways, really really interesting people and we had a fabulous time with them during the coming of age festivities we were fortunate to be invited to. Fabulous beading worn by men and women alike and lots of singing and dancing over four days after which 100 young men were circumcised. Each of these male circumcision groups form a strong bond which they maintain throughout life. At one stage Julie was surrounded by dozens of them, just very excited to see the pictures she had been taking. Meanwhile, the eligible girls are wooed by the impressive high jumping by the males and other dance moves, their impressive beading and postures of approaching manhood. Right up there with some of the most privileged of our travel experiences:) Adam and Julie January 2013

Stop Stimulating the Ivory Trade; Just Stop Trade

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/14/stop-stimulating-the-ivory-trade-just-stop-trade/?fb_action_ids=10151408258606350&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151408258606350%22%3A598976433462923%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151408258606350%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D Stop Stimulating the Ivory Trade; Just Stop Trade

This article is succinct and a must read.  Endorsed by Mary Rice of the EIA who has dedicated her life to protecting elephants.  With increased demand for ivory trinkets, jewellery and art coming from Asia, and given a total ban has worked before, it has to be the only way we can stop the cruel and brutal slaughter of elephants and rhino and the rangers and people who lose their lives trying to protect these helpless animals. Total ban on ivory sales.  It has to be.  I defy anyone who has seen pictures of bloodied, butchered de-horned rhino and de-tusked elephants, or seen the peculiar, out of character, traumatised behaviour of surviving calfs or elephants who have escaped the hunters to see it any other way.  Already this year there have been an alarming number of ivory hauls and elephant/rhino slaughters.  Total ban.  Please.

Kenya and Tanzania Safari: Xmas 2012


Hopefully this gives a flavour of the wide variety of game we spent time with in the Serengeti, the Mara and Laikipia over Christmas and the New Year. The Big Cats performed well: lots of Lion activity, not just sleeping!  Cheetah kills, Wild Dog hunting Dik Dik - we could hear the shrieks and then crunching of bones.... but the terrain was too difficult to keep up with these hunters.  Still, we lucked in with seeing Wild Dog puppies though!  We nearly saw a Leopard kill but some bad mannered Homo Sapiens messed up the kill, much to the frustration of a number of us who had been respectfully watching her hunt, and of course don't forget the frustration of the poor Leopard who was frightened off, needing to eat and with an empty stomach.  More on safari etiquette in a later Blog!

The Northern Serengeti showed us Hyena galore, the Southern Serengeti Wildebeest galore.  A Puff Adder (gulp), different species of Zebra and Giraffe in the Kenyan highlands, and not featuring in this video, but some privileged time with Samburu as they celebrated the coming of age of some of their young men.

2013 is shaping up well!

Julie and Adam
January 2013