Naga sadhu Sureshvar Giri, 60, a farmer-turned sanyasi, flings his jatas (matted locks) to dust off excess ash. The Nagas, who are mostly Shaivaites, have adopted the appearance of Shiva as described in the Vedas. (All photos: Bandeep Singh)
Every three years, a Kumbh churns out from our geography, our cultural core. A vortex of humanity milling at the glistening bathing ghats dips into tradition and emerges recharged for its maddening pace of life. It is a festival of congregation where we meet our essential selves and the Naga sadhus. The unkempt, ash-covered, fully naked, expletive-spewing sanyasis have become embodiments of the vibrant spirit of the festival. A popular belief suggests that it was Adi Shankaracharya who established the order of warrior sadhus’ to protect Hindu dharma. The Nagas (Sanskrit for mountain dwellers) were apocryphally adept with both shastra (weapons) and shaastras (scriptures). Despite being the most ubiquitous subjects for the millions of cameras at the festival, the Nagas are a reclusive lot, repelling curious people with their brusque behaviour. Group Photo Editor Bandeep Singh was given rare access to stay with and photograph the sadhus of the Juna Akhara, the largest Naga congregation at the Kumbh, earlier this month.
With his bloodshot eyes reddened by the smoke from the chillam, Naga baba Raju Puri (left), 49, stares at the camera in mock anger to project an aura of fierceness. Much of the boisterous nature of the Nagas reflects their traditional identity as an order of warrior sanyasis.
Young Naga baba Kamal Puri from Ganga Sagar in West Bengal demonstrates his powers and endurance through the Chabi ritual. This involves rolling the penis on a rod and inviting others to stand on it. Some sadhus even use a sword for this act. Displays of such feats of self-mortification involving sexual organs are symbolic of the Naga belief that enormous physical strength can be gained by controlling sexual desire.
Radhey Puri, 52, is a Naga sadhu from Ujjain. He is an urdhvabahu hatha yogione pledged to keep his hand raised for years of sadhna. He has not lowered his hand for the past 12 years. Nagas perform these extreme feats to practise and demonstrate the ascendance of the mind over the body.
Whorls of dense smoke swirl up as a Naga sanyasi (right) exhales from a deep draught of his chillam. Marijuana or charas is routinely consumed by the Nagas. They justify it as a means to enable strong focus and awareness during sadhna.
Raman Giri, 55, is a Naga sadhu from Bareilly. With his matted hair and beard, he is hugely popular among the tourists for his Chabi skills. He offers blessings by placing his foot on visitors’ heads.
Naga babas Shakti Giri, 54, (standing) and Raj Puri pose with their petsfour white mice and a pigeon named Hari Puri. The former wears an outfit made out of 125,000 rudraksh beads and weighing 70 kg. The younger baba bears a 21 kg rudraksh Shivling on his head, which is often the perch for his pigeon. Several Nagas don these dramatic costumes to draw attention and are huge favorites for Instagrammers.
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