Editorial photo #524081 Religion and Belief

Charak or Shiva Gajan Festival with Human remains near Kolkata, India

Hindu devotees dancing with human remains during a Hindu festival called "Charak or Shiva Gajan" in Kurmun around 121 kms from Kolkata, India. Shiva-Gajan is a traditional Hindu festival to derive satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice . The festival is performed each year on the last day of Bengali calendar. In Kurmun -a village 120 kilometres from Kolkata ,Hindu sanyasis or hermits exhume body parts or human remains from graveyards and carry them in a procession to appease Hindu Lord Shiva. This festival has been in controversy for a long time as sometimes allegedly they have exhumed human remains that have been newly buried and ecologists and humanitarians had raised their concern over this particular event - in Kolkata, India. (Photo by Arindam Shivaani/NurPhoto)