1st place
gold star award
Debiprasad Mukherjee
india 
title
God Never Talks. But the Devil Keeps Advertising
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entry description
In 2016, Kumbha Mela was held in Ujjain. Located in Madhya Pradesh, through the medium sized city Ujjain runs the pious Sipra river.22nd April to 21st May 2016 saw the accumulation of few millions of people. Near about 14 kms from the city of Ujjain, in Bawan Kund, near the banks of the Sipra River, the “Ghost Fair-Exorcism” was being hosted. This place has a weird aura and a feeling of mysticism surrounds it, with broken stone structures, a damp smell filling the air, cobwebs, muddy puddles and the smell of flowers offered by the pilgrims. In Bawan Kund, ‘exorcism’ took a greater height, where in the name of religion, people were being beaten up ruthlessly. Thousands of pilgrims from interiors of different had accumulated here in the name of pilgrimage. They had brought their relatives and friends to free them from evil spirits and the exorcists were violently beating up and ruthlessly hurting the so-called evil women, in exchange of money and valuables. On the occasions where serious mental and physical attention was to be given to these patients, at least a lot of love and care in this case-they were being struck with a knife until they bled, and were dragged to the river to take the “Holy Royal Dip” to free them from the spirits. The exorcists were taking clear advantage of the blind faith the villagers had on them, torturing these women mentally and physically. Their wails, cries, scream got drowned in the sound of the bells and drums. The women were being hauled underneath the water, struck with knives and being dragged by holding their hair strands with the hope that they will be free from all sickness. The question thus arises “Who is actually sick? The tormentors or the tormented? “about the photographer
Debiprasad is an Indian freelance documentary photographer based out of Kolkata, India. Though Debi is a Business Consultant by profession, but his strong passion for documentary photography & photojournalism made him travel to various countries like India, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, UK and USA. He strongly believes that as a documentary photographer, it is his responsibility to showcase the social changes and its impact on human race and he is committed to leverage photography as the most powerful tool to capture the social changes & behaviors across the globe over the years. His photographic vision is not only to depict social, political and financial issues & conflicts but also to portray surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. That is why, while photographing Debi always asks himself what changes his photos can bring to the lives of his “subjects” suffering in the darkest corners of the world.back to gallery
