Rishikesh and the Kumbh Mela

These portraits were taken in and around Rishikesh and Haridwar, North India at the time of the Kumbh Mela festival. Shot over a period of five days the series features a few of the many charismatic and eccentric characters we ran into along the way. It was a honor for me to be able to photograph yoga and yogis, a subject that is close to me...here, where alot of it began.

Together with my assistant, Vijay and friend Ali we carted our equipment up the foothills of the Himalayas, along the banks of the Ganges and into the darkened woods to capture what I believe is some of my best portraiture work to date.

While we sat by the holiest river in India, Vijay summed up the feeling perfectly in his broken english:

"When the Baba is no more...India is no more."

Enjoy and pass along.

In order of Appearance:

1. Naga Baba, one of the naked Saddhus that wander the banks of the Ganges during Kumbh Mela
2. This man lives along the Ganges and takes care of puppies. He is Dog Baba.
3. Dog Baba
4. A little one hides in one of the fields that run along side the Home for Destitute Children, Rishikesh
5. Swami Yogananda. Age: 101, energetic, spritely and opinionated.
6. Swami Yogananda. The bad ass behind him is Siva; the Destroyer.
7. A woman carries firewood for Pooja. It took 2 men to lift that load on her head.
8. Hobbit Baba. Deep in the the woods of the Himalayan foothills...
9. We met this Saddhu on our way to Parnath Niketan Ashram; he invited us in for chai.
10. Yogi Vishva-ji, loves to laugh and presides over the Anand Prakash Ashram in Rishikesh.
11. A village girl with beautiful eyes and spirit.
12. Baba-ji strikes a pose on the ghats near Laxman Jula
13. Yogi Raj; Pranayam master and Ayurvedic doctor
14. A beggar looks over mother Ganga
15. Basanti works as a gardener at the Home for Destitute Children in Tapovan, Rishikesh.
16. Rajendra is a cripple from birth; he is shifting from begging to learning english and taking computer classes.