With their costumes, their make-up, their 'props' and their public appearances, the sadhus in a sense resemble 'performance artists'. Many sadhus show great artistry in painting their face, adorning their body, decorating their stage and performing their act.
As emulators--as artists--of the divine, the sadhus endeavour to express the unearthly beauty of divinities. The sadhus' performances are both for the spiritual benefit of the public and for their own good, since their primary 'audience' is formed by the deities themselves.
Great candid, and I really like the light. Thanks for your paragraph on sadhus, too -- very interesting.
If I can rant a bit (nothing against you): Perhaps it's just that none of the "propriety police" have seen this yet, but I wonder if the reason this photo hasn't been removed (after all, it does violate the TOS) is because people see him as a "native" and therefore full nudity is deemed acceptable. Weird.
What kind of ritual is this? Powerful picture. Is he really an Indian, though? Or is he a Western hippie? His white skin makes me wonder.
yes he is an indian, though by this photo its difficult to make out which ritual it could be, since these sadhus always live like this.
But on the day of Kumbh (ritual/festival) they gather at a river and take bath.
this does not look like kumbh too because in kumbh there might be as many as 100000 sadhus taking bath at one time.
Fascinating capture. I wonder what he thought of you taking his photo - he looks a little wary, but maybe he's used to it? This almost as a "light on white" feel which adds to the sense of mystery and quiet drama. I'd love to see more from this series.
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