“An invitation from a stranger combined with the myth of the origin of Maha Kumbh Mela took me to the largest gathering of humanity in 2001. Three years later in 2004 at Ujjain, India, Simhastha Kumbh Mela became a natural destination. The sheer intensity of the faithful masses inspired me to borrow a 2.8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix digital camera.
What followed became my first opportunity to be a photographer and use a camera in a professional capacity. This transformed into a media education project with Hindu monks when they displayed an overwhelming interest in what I was doing. The awe in the faces of the monks posing in front of the international media cameras reminded me of how much I wanted to use a digital camera and act a as professional photographer.
During my attempts to take pictures I realized most of the monks were posing unnaturally for my camera. As I was staying with the monks I found my initial pictures were a distortion of their daily lives and far from the reality which I was witnessing while living with them. My desire to capture them without the enchantment of the camera and their constant curiosity to play with my equipment led to camera classes with the monks. As I began teaching them how to use a camera, the process demystified the object, which allowed the monks to get used to having a lens around without focusing on it. Soon my camera and I were able to reveal unconditional glimpses of the monks behaving naturally.”
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