TITLE: Face to face

Here I came face to face with pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela or fair held once every twelve years.
They have come from all over India to take a bath in the sacred river. It is believed by millions of Hindus that taking a bath during that period washes away their sins.

AUTHOR: Robi Chakraborty (United States)

My earliest memory of my love affair with the camera began in Kenya where my father allowed me to play with his Yashica twin-lens reflex. Things which unravel out of your childhood are destined to stay with you for life, often biding their time until they emerge out of the shadows to become the only pathway.

Next, in Kathmandu, he bought me a Chinese-made plastic camera, my first. All I did for a few days, was have the back open, click the shutter and watch in wonder. None of the above actually amounted to me clicking any shots. It has been a journey of learning discovery and exhilaration since then. Photography, is a passion I feel, it consumes and transforms me on a tangible level, making a wanderer without a timetable. I could not have prayed for anything better.