Shivraj Giri #2, Varanasi. India 2007

Shivraj Giri #2, Varanasi. India 2007, originally uploaded by fredcan.

Shivraj Giri is a very charismatic naga sadhu i spent some time with in Varanasi in February 2007. Here, taking a little chai (tea) break. Indian pilgrims would sometimes wait in line in front of him to receive his darshan (blessing), making him a very popular and busy man in Varanasi.

When not on the pilgrimage routes, Shivaraj Giri lives away from the chaos of the world, just outside a tiny village in Madhya-Pradesh (central India), where his desciples and villagers regularly go and pay him respectful visits.

Sahus are yoga practitioners who renounced all material except for blue body paint and wicked awesome dreads in order to elevate their spirit to a higher plateau.