The magazine of the photo-essay
Jan 2019 back issue
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker
by Rajib Singha
'Bhel Bhel' is an annual festival dedicated to the Goddess Muthumariamman. It takes place in the town of Bandel in West
Bengal, India and is celebrated a few weeks after Holi. Being a railway junction town, Bandel is home to a large population
of people of Southern Indian origin and people from the adjacent state of Bihar who mainly take part in the month long
fast and celibacy rituals. On the final worship day, devotees get their skin pierced with skewers and dance their way to the
temple of Goddess Muthumariamman.
