15th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Gajan - Pain for gain

In Gajan, one of the most popular religious festival of the Hindus of Bengal, India, devotees after a holy bath, gets converted to "Sannyasi"s and go through different severe physical hardship in order to please and to show their dedication to Lord Shiva. The young chap is in the process of tongue piercing event and shall start dancing followed by many other activities. The totally different expressions of the doer and the receiver forced me to freeze the moment in the early morning of the Gajan festival.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2017
Date Uploaded: 10.2017
Photo Location: India
Camera: NIKON D750
Copyright: © Somanjan Ponda