NAGA SADHU,HOLY MEN OF INDIA Editorial Photo

Portrait of a Naga Sadhu(Saint) during camp at Kolkata before they proceed further Ganga sagar mela. To accommodate a million of transit devotees, the state administration arranges temporary camps in the Maidan,Kolkata. Maidan stretches from Chowringhee in the east to Hooghly River in the west, and the pilgrims meet at Babu Ghat on the north-west corner adjoining the river. Ash smeared ascetics with braided hair, others clad in saffron colored robes, the unclothed sadhus of the warrior Naga sect, the sadhvis or female ascetics, the white robed, the red, and those clad in black all assemble there. This is known as the'sadhu mela' a sort of religious carnival attracting thousands who seek blessings.