[Leica] Festival

[jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)]

I was wondering whether to post photos of a Hindu religious festival with a
lot of pagan rituals, obviously retained from our animistic past, that a
three of us had gone to last Sunday, with women prancing about in a trance
on dirt tracks red with blood, gory images of very casual and
matter-of-fact animal sacrifices, all in the narrow lanes around the
tranquil environs of a quiet temple - it was some contrast! All this, not
hidden away in some backwater, but bang in the middle of a city of 8
million people! Unfortunately, I had taken my Fuji mirrorless system, which
was totally inadequate for the speed of the action taking place, as well as
the crowds milling around getting in the way - an effective, fast
continuous shooting mode was absolutely necessary. The situation cried out
for my Nikon D4 with a 16-35, but I suppose there is always next year!
Anyway, here are a few shots - all the action happens around noon, so the
lighting is very harsh, that cannot be avoided. A warning - some of the
photographs are quite explicit and graphic:

The quiet Koyambedu Sivan Temple:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-202.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-084.jpg.html

The festival procession:

Procession:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-041.jpg.html

Women in a Trance:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-049.jpg.html

Blood on the Tracks:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-066.jpg.html

Chicken Soup for the Soul:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-046.jpg.html

Pastoral Scene:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-057.jpg.html

Sacrifice:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-074.jpg.html

Goat's Head Soup:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/album254/Mischennai/Koyambedu-20140810-076.jpg.html

Please see LARGE

Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome.

Cheers
Jayanand