Ashen

How many masks can you see in this throng of naga sadhus at this year's Kumbh Mela in Haridwar? (I count five, more than I expected.) This pilgrimage of millions to bathe in the holy Ganga near its source was one of several government-sanctioned super-spreader events contributing to India's ongoing devastating covid-19 tragedy. We had a regime like that too, just a year ago, its mobs itching for more.