Spiritual Hues :The Campsite of Gangasagar Devotees
The Gangasagar Fair congregates about half a million pilgrims each year in Sagar Island, second only to the Kumbh Mela. The fair is held at the continental shelf of the Bay of the Bengal, where the holy Ganges meets the sea, about 100 kilometers from Kolkata. The transit camp at Babughat, Kolkata is a gateway to Sagar Island, as pilgrims, sadhus and common people start gathering here 5 to 7 days days before the main Gangasagar fair.
In its simplest form, Babughat is sort of a “base camp before the main hike, or a stage rehearsal before the grand finale.” Thousands of devotees gather here and usually spend a few days for food, water, medical check-ups and rest as they pour into Kolkata from all over the country (and abroad). Most camp residents are occupied with religious and everyday chores, yet transform this camp into a fully functioning mini-city of sorts.
Sadhus stay on one side of the camp, while everybody else on the other. The camp has a particularly inimitable spiritual fabric woven all over with sunrise and sundown practices being performed. Through the day, however, it is full of everyday hubbub – communal cooking, washing, cleaning, meditation, recitals and exchanges with other fellow pilgrims. It is a riot of colors and human emotion surfacing out of spirituality and dedication to Gangasagar.
The Naga sadhus, in particular, add to the essence of the camp, making it a rare occasion when sadhus and common people intermingle as one. Their penance and single minded thirst for divinity is worth seeing and photographing. The dust, smells, smoke (whether from the cooking fire or the sadhu's weed) smeared with the winter Ganges air gives the camp its character. It is a distinct opportunity for photographers interested in portraiture, street, human expression and the stories of common men rooted in belief and convention, but seen through the lens of solidarity through diversity.
