The Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, has been described as the greatest religious gathering in the history of the world. On its holiest day, Mauni Amavasya, in early February 2013, an estimated 30 million people came to bath in the holy water of the river Ganges. Bathing continued throughout the day and the night as pilgrims hoped to achieve liberation from the hardships of re-incarnation.



The Mela attracts priests, monks and religious teachers from all over India. Few are as extreme or mysterious as sadhus, holy men and women who spend most of their days living in caves, woods or temples on their own, only coming to the cities to attend festivals such as this. Many wear orange, the colour of spirituality, and many wear nothing apart from smearing themselves with holy ash.



The photographer spent 8 days at the Mela where he stayed with the mysterious Juna Akhara, a group of sadhus who are the most mysterious and enigmatic of all the Akharas, building a portfolio of beautiful photographs which portray something of the devotion, colour and fervour of their faith. He also walked by day and by night through crowds of devotees bathing and undertaking riverside arti fire rituals, making photographs under the artificial sodium lamps of the Mela and as the sun rose over the sacred Ganges.



These are photographs of a multitude of people at prayer within a country often described as the most religious on Earth.