Photo Essay
Hooked on tradition
A festival in rural Bengal, considered essential to usher in a bountiful harvest, is marked by plenty of rituals, some of them dramatic but bizarre.

On a “charak tree”, which is any thick and tall tree trunk, this young man hangs by a rope fastened to hooks pierced on the skin on his back, only one of many who so seek Siva’s blessings for a bountiful harvest during the Charak and Gajan festival held on the occasion of Chaitra Sankranti and the Bengali New Year. Photo: Joyeeta Ghosh

A march with skulls, some of which have flesh and hair sticking to them, at 4 a.m. in a village near Bardhaman. The preparation begins early the previous night. Along with the putrefying skulls that give out a fetid smell, the men also carry weapons as they make their way through the village. Photo: Joyeeta Ghosh