Yogi Performing Austerities

I photographed this yogi at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. He was meditating in the midst of heavy smoke. He had lit piles of cow dung, and the smoke smelled sort of funky. I was amazed that he was still sitting when I came back to that spot two hours later. These kinds of austerities are not uncommon among the yogis of India.

However, I had a couple of doubts about his level of detachment when I noticed that when two female tourists invaded his proximity, he promptly got up and walked away. I guess he wasn't far enough removed from this worldly realm to feel unperturbed by these women.

-Charles