Hindus around the world -- from South Asia to Britain and beyond --
observe many colorful holidays throughout the year. Recent festivals
include the Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrating the birth of the
elephant-headed deity, and Janamashtami, the birth anniversary of the
god Krishna. The range of experiences at these celebrations runs from
joyfully loud and spectacular to solemn and contemplative. Each devotee
celebrates in a distinct, personal way even while joining the larger
community. Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion; the majority
of its one billion adherents are concentrated in India, but sizable
communities exist all over the globe. I hope you enjoy these vivid,
intriguing glimpses of Hindu festivals photographed over the past few
months. [39 photos]
Devotees carry an idol of Hindu elephant god Ganesh, the deity of
prosperity, into the water from Girgaum Chowpatty beach before immersing
it in the waters of the Arabian Sea on the last day of the Ganesh
Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, on September 11, 2011. Idols are taken
through the streets in a procession accompanied by dancing and singing,
to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual send-off of
his journey towards his abode in "Kailash", while taking away with him
the misfortunes of all mankind. (Reuters/Vivek Prakash)
Devotees pray inside a temple at the Janmashtami Hindu Festival at
Bhaktivedanta Manor on August 22, 2011 in Watford, England. More than
70,000 took part in the two day festival celebrating the birth of
Krishna, in what is believed to be the largest Hindu festival gathering
outside of India. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) # 
A friend applies makeup to a woman's face during the Teej festival in
Kathmandu, on August 31, 2011. The festival is a three-day-long
celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting.
Through this religious fasting, Hindu women pray for marital bliss, the
well-being of their spouses and children and purification of their own
bodies and souls. (Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar) #
K. Surya Prakash, an Indian artist, puts the final preparations on an
ecologically friendly idol of the Hindu God Lord Ganesh made from paper
cups, at his workshop in Hyderabad, on August 29, 2011. Prakash made the
17 foot tall Idol, for the upcoming Ganesh festival starting September
1, by using 30,000 paper cups with help of five workers to create
awareness by making ecologically friendly Ganesh Idols to minimize harm
to the environment when they are thrown in the rivers. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) #
Villagers stand along the ridge of the volcanic crater during the
annual Kasada festival at Mount Bromo in Indonesia's East Java province,
on August 15, 2011. Villagers and worshipers throw offerings such
livestock and other crops into the volcanic crater of Mount Bromo to
give thanks to the Hindu gods for ensuring their safety and prosperity.
Other villagers stand below, hoping to intercept the more valuable
offerings being thrown. (Reuters/Dwi Oblo) #
Hindu devotees walk towards the Pashupatinath Temple for Shravan
festivities to offer prayers to Lord Shiva, Hindu god of destruction, in
Sundarijal on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on August 1, 2011. According
to the Nepali calendar Shravan is considered the holiest month of the
year with each Monday of the month known as Shravan Somvar when
worshipers offer prayers for a happy and prosperous life. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu devotee dances with hooks inserted into his
skin in the Adippura religious festival in the capital Colombo, on
August 6, 2011. Tamils, who are mainly followers of Hinduism, are the
main minority community in the island which is emerging from nearly four
decades of ethnic conflict which had claimed up to 100,000 lives. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images) #
Two eunuchs share a laugh after performing at the Raksha Bandhan
festival celebrations in a red light area in Mumbai, on August 12, 2011.
During Raksha Bandhan, an annual Hindu festival celebrating the bond
between sisters and brothers, sisters tie a sacred thread "Rakhi" around
their brother's wrist for his well-being, in return for their brother's
vow to protect them. (Reuters/Danish Siddiqui) #
A clay idol of the Hindu goddess Durga lies on the ground for drying at
a workshop in Kolkata on September 6, 2011. The idols will be used
during the Durga Puja festival from October 2-6, which is the biggest
religious event for Bengali Hindus. Hindus believe that the goddess
Durga symbolises power and the triumph of good over evil. (Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri) #
Nepalese Hindu devotees take a holy bath and preform rituals near the
Gokarneswar Mahadev Temple at Gokarna, on the outskirts of Kathmandu to
observe the Kuse Aunse, Father's Day, festival, on August 29, 2011.
During the festival Nepalese Hindus from all over the country, whose
fathers have passed away, come to the Gokarneswar Mahadev Temple to
worship, take holy baths, and present offerings. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Nepalese devotee walks surrounded by trees on his way to a temple to
offer prayers on the occasion of Janai Purnima festival, or Sacred
Thread festival, in Kavre district, some 46 km (28 mi) east of capital
Katmandu, Nepal, on August 13, 2011. On Janai Purnima Hindus take holy
baths and perform their annual change of the Janai, a sacred cotton
string worn around their chest or tied on the wrist, in the belief that
it will protect and purify them. (AP Photo/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi) #
Artisans work on semi-finished clay statues of Hindu goddess Durga in
Kumartoli, the idol makers village of Kolkata, on August 22, 2011.
Ongoing monsoon rain has made it difficult for artisans to finish idols
on schedule, with the recent economic slowdown and high inflation adding
to the difficulties of the idol-makers ahead of the festive season. (Dibyangsh Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images) #
Living Goddess Kumari attends the Changu Narayan festival in Kathmandu,
on August 10, 2011. The Kumari, a young pre-pubescent girl who is a
manifestation of a Goddess, is worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists in
Nepal. The Kumari emerges from her temple about 12 times a year for
religious occasions. (Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar) #
Hindu pilgrims are carried on palanquins by Muslim bearers over a
glacier near Amarnath Cave, 150 km (93 mi) from Srinagar, India, on July
28, 2011. At least half a million devotees make the pilgrimage to the
icy cave which lies 4,115 m (13,500 ft) above sea level in
Indian-controlled Kashmir amid tight security. Hindus worship a
stalagmite inside the cave as an incarnation of the Lord Shiva, the
Hindu god of destruction and regeneration. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) #
Nepalese Hindu women dance after paying homage to Shiva, Hindu god of
destruction, as they celebrate the Teej festival in Kathmandu, on August
31, 2011. The three-day long Teej festival, celebrated by Hindu women
in Nepal and some parts of India, is observed by married women fasting
during the day and praying for their husband's longevity, while
unmarried women wish for handsome husbands and happy conjugal lives. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images) #
A dancer in body paint waits for his performance during festivities
marking the start of the annual harvest festival of "Onam" in the
southern Indian city of Kochi, on August 31, 2011. The ten-day-long
festival is celebrated annually in India's southern coastal state of
Kerala to symbolize the return of King Mahabali to meet his beloved
subjects. (Reuters/Sivaram V) #
Nepalese people watch as a straw effigy of Ghanta Karna burns during
celebrations of the Hindu festival of "Gathemangal", also known as
Ghanta Karna, in Bhaktapur on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on July 29,
2011. The Nepalese festival, which celebrates the defeat of the mythical
demon Ghanta Karna ("bell-ears"), is celebrated by performing the
legendary drama in the streets. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images) #
Indian devotee Swarnaltha (center), who undertook a vow of chastity and
devoted her life to the Hindu goddess Mahankali, answers questions
while allegedly in a state of trance during a 'Rangam' ceremony at the
Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple in Secunderabad, on July 18, 2011.
Swarnalatha Rangam is a ritual where it is believed that the goddess
Mahankali enters the body of an unmarried woman and predicts the future.
(Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) #
Devotees drink traditional alcohol flowing from the mouth of a statue
of the deity Swet Bhairav during the second day of the week long Indra
Jatra festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 10, 2011. Indra Jatra
festival, which is celebrated by both Hindus and Buddhists, marks the
end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) #
Hindu married women perform rituals around a Banyan tree during the
festival of Vat Savitri in Ahmadabad, India, on June 15, 2011. Vat
Savitri is celebrated during the time of the full moon, when women tie
cotton threads around a banyan tree and pray for the longevity of their
husbands. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) #
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