Taken June 12, 2014 in Bhuvaneshwarinagar.

From the “only-in-India” files, here are a couple of photos a of a man who travels door to door whipping himself–or rather pretending to–with the accompaniment of a bongo soloist–to make it groovier, I presume. The lower photo is mid whip-crack, and the top one gets the bongoist in the picture.

For a nominal tip you can take their picture. It’s interesting–to say the least. I thought self-whipping was unique to some Catholic (e.g. Opus Dei) and Islamic sects, but you learn something new ever day. It’s a little out of character in a religion that advocates non-violence (against self as well as others) but as has been said many times, “The one thing you can say about India upon which everyone can agree is that everything and its opposite is true of India.”