Serge BOUVET

A naga baba leper and a one-eyed sadhu, on deck number two in Prayagraj.

Bridge number two in Prayagraj. When you couldn't access the bridge because of the incredible crowd of pilgrims, you do like these musicians. You climb on the cylindrical studs with care and take the picture.

Out came the tridents, spears and swords. Cries of Har Har Mahadev rent the air as the Sanyasins raised their arms and danced or runned.

He is known as the one-armed baba. For the past 15 years this sadhu has kept his right arm up in the air. He can no longer bend it, and his nails have turned into spiralling claws. He has to perform all other functions with his left arm. But the esoteric feat of endurance - his disciples agree - has earned him much spiritual merit. "By holding his arm in the air he gains long life and other powers," one disciple explains.

Naga Baba during Kumbh Mela

Sannyāsin in the mist

The Hindu devotees sleep under the stars or in the tents of the camp, on the banks of the Ganges, waiting to do their ablutions. Tens of thousands of people spent the night in the cold.

A sannyāsin who smokes a 

bidî बीड़ी

Pilgrim wrapped in jeans.

The biggest challenge at the Kumbh is to guarantee security against terrorist threats since "there are massive security implications given the size of the mela." The Army works closely with the police on this.

Naga Baba in a cloud of smoke

Naga baba (Naked hindu sadhu) with a sword during Kumbh Mela.

The decorative front mark, tilaka, refers to the identity and religious affiliation of the sanyasin. Shivaites use horizontal patterns that Shaktas combine with a point, bindu. These patterns are made from saffron, sandalwood paste, yellow clay, vermilion powder and ash.

Here is a guru whose name I don't know who attracted crowds during the Kumbh Mela, thanks to his wisdom or his small size.

There is no authority empowered to grant this title; Hinduism - without an ordered centralizing authority - has no Church, no clergy, no training school for future gurus. It would be inconceivable for someone to proclaim himself guru, because it is the public recognition of the level of inner achievement that suggests that this or that has the stature of a master. The recognition of the status of guru is only obtained by the guru registered in a long line of transmission and who will be considered able to recognize the ability of the disciple to teach in turn.

There are cases of guru who have not received the title of another guru. In this case, the public rumour plays its part: we come to listen to it and if a few people say they are disciples, and it's OK for everyone. "

Hijra, Indian transgender, devoted to the god Vishnu