Gangasagar Mela Transit Camp PhotoReportAge Festival, Pomarico, Italy - August 2013
First published March 2014 Copyright Kevin Ryan 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Kevin Ryan.
Sagar Island lies on the continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal, south of Kolkata. The island is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. Every year on the day of Makar Sankranti, hundreds of thousands of Hindus gather to take a dip at the confluence of the holy river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal and offer puja in the Kapil Muni Temple. The annual Gangasagar pilgrimage and fair is possibly the second largest congregation of people in India after the holy Kumbha Mela. The Gangasagar Transit Camp on the outskirts of Kolkata is about 100 kilometres away from the final destination for pilgrims on the way. It is a chance for them to rest up, cook, eat, get medical attention, engage with sadhus and fortune tellers and mingle with city dwellers.
My sincere thanks to my friends Subir Basak and Aditi Biswas for their company and help. Thank you to Sudiptio Chaterjee for leading me to Kolkata in the first place.
Kevin Ryan FRSA is a UK based photographer and community artist who has worked and exhibited worldwide. He has directed a number of groundbreaking and award winning projects through collaborative work with communities, diverse groups and a wide range of organisations. He was also a founding member and co-diretor of Mailout Magazine for over 20 years and is a co-director of the UK East Midlands Participatory Arts Form Partnership.