Sadhus
Photographs of sadhus (holy people) in India. A sadhu is a “holy” person who has renounced the material world in favor of service to god and pursuit of enlightenment. Generally respected and deferred to by Hindus, they run the gamut from rock star religious figureheads to elderly homeless men on skid row. Gandhi is the most famous sadhu. Sadhus can be encountered anywhere in India, but are more prevalent in “holy” cities like Pushkar, Varanasi, etc., and at Hindu religious festivals. I’ve met and photographed a lot of sadhus, and they’re generally a very nice lot, jolly and open-minded, as one would expect. It is an unhealthy social dynamic in my opinion though, that these men are to be deferred to by “lesser” people. I remember once offering a covered seat to a poor woman and her two young children who were stuck out in a heavy thunderstorm, but the sadhu sitting next to me said no, they can’t sit here, it would be demeaning to his stature.
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A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A boy dresses as Shiva in blue with a yellow tripundra to pose for photos with tourists, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A boy dressed as Shiva poses for photos with tourists during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A man selling old coins (fake old coins) looks at an image of Sai Baba on his smartphone, Delhi, India
A boy dressed as Shiva poses for photos with tourists during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A boy dresses as Shiva in blue with a yellow tripundra to pose for photos with tourists, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A boy dresses as Shiva in blue with a yellow tripundra to pose for photos with tourists, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
A middle class Indian boy poses with a dalit boy dressed as Shiva to pose for photos with tourists during the Pushkar Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India
Elderly sadhu in his hut on the ghats of Pushkar Lake, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. Natural light and background.
The resident baba at the August Muni cave temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. He told me this is the only photo ever taken of him.
Heavy winter morning fog at the Aloo Baba temple, Ajaypal, Rajasthan, India. Aloo (potato) Baba (holy man) is an old man living at the temple who survives on nothing but potatos, and lots of hashish
Flowers, bells, and pots in a remote temple, near Nand village, Rajasthan, India. The baba in the back is blind.
Sadhus assemble in a large tent to receive dinner en masse, at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India.
A woman with some type of disorder who is apparently revered, at a tent for Sadhus at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India.
A woman with some type of disorder who is apparently revered, at a tent for Sadhus at the 2013 Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, India.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A sadhu (holy man) adjusts his waist-length dreadlocks at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges meets the sea.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A sadhu (holy man) adjusts his waist-length dreadlocks at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges meets the sea.
Hindu pilgrims stop at Babughat in Kolkata to rest and eat en route to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island, India.
A sadhu (holy man) with long dreadlocks at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A sadhu (holy man) in Kolkata, India gestures as he prepares to make a pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal for the Gangasagar Mela.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A sadhu (holy man) adjusts his waist-length dreadlocks at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges meets the sea.
A boy in Kolkata, India dressed as Shiva receives baksheesk (donations) at a staging area for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
A Naga Sadhu (holy man) smokes a pipe and meditates at a staging area in Kolkata, India for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island south of Kolkata.
An elerly sadhu (holy man) does yoga at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges River meets the sea.
A sadhu (holy man) adjusts his waist-length dreadlocks at the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal in India, where the Ganges meets the sea.
Pilgrims wait at Babughat in Kolkata, India en route to the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage to Sagar Island in the Bay of Bengal.
Pilgrims ride a train from Kolkata to Sagar Island, India for the Gangasagar Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage that attracts a million people.
Hindu pilgrims stop at Babughat in Kolkata to rest and eat en route to the Gangasagar Mela on Sagar Island, India.
