More photos taken  January 28, 2001, 
the day before Basant Panchami, the last important bathing day of January.

Sunita (left) from Rajasthan says they have been here for a month and will stay for another. They earn a living by transferring intricate designs using henna and other dyes onto women’s palms. She offered to do mine, but I gave it a miss.

Sujata, a warm hearted woman sitting in her transport, unable to walk. She is here with a group which includes her four year old son and her mother seen on the left of the picture. They come from Bihar and travel from mela to mela begging for their living. Sujata has a nice little puppy whose white tail can be seen wagging behind her. Meanwhile the policeman in the background has just apprehended somebody and is wondering what to do with him.

Preparing oneself after the snan as seen in this picture, is as important as preparing oneself before going into the water.

Rajesh Agarwal from Gujarat sprained both his legs at the Sangam while having his snan, pictured here with some family members outside the main mela hospital. "Fortunately all my family are here and we escaped the Earthquake, so perhaps this injury was a sympathetic reaction and a necessity."