Situated in Northwest of India the holy Sikh city of Amritsar is home to the Golden Temple, the shining heart of the Sikh faith. The Sikhs have descended from a warrior clan with a proud martial history, yet despite this, Amritsar is an incredibly peaceful and serene city. The Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib (The Abode of God) is covered with 750kg of gold. Ornate and beautifully constructed it conveys a sense of majesty and grace as it shines brightly in the sun. Around the temple are steel-eyed Nihang warrior guards, wielding spears and traditional Kirpan swords and wearing elaborately large and ornately decorated violet-blue turbans. I had intended only to stay a day but in the end I spent a week in the city, visiting the temple for hours each day, photographing the pilgrims. Despite the heat of the sun, the polished white marble of the grounds was cool under foot. Flanked on all sides by ornate buildings of white marble the temple is also surrounded by water, known as the Pool of Nectar. Whatever you believe, there is a pervading sense of the divine in Amritsar, a sense of something compassionate, understanding and graceful.

Baraat bands are a remnant of British colonial rule. They are a corruption of British military bands. The Indian kings were hugely impressed by these bands and created their own versions and eventually it became the done thing to have at your wedding These bands are a Northern India thing and are all over the place during wedding season (November to January). They come with sounds systems and porters with lights and their own generators making an unholy racket. Think Balearic / Bollywood / trance with an out of tune brass band accompaniment.

The Muslim sari factories of Bikaner north Rajasthan.

Billy McGowan contracted Polio from the Polio vaccine he received as a two year old. The consequences of this 'accident' have dominated the events his life since. He had his first operation at seven years of age which saw him dumped in the Castlebar workhouse. He spent the majority of the 1970's in various institutions across the UK and Ireland suffering from Bipolar disorder and recovering from many operations on his affected leg. Despite the great pain he has endured one thing has helped him rise above it all and beat Bipolar disorder and manage his Polio; Music. In his own words 'Music is a healer'. His encyclopedic knowledge of music and his fondness for DJing have earned him the nickname 'Billy the Kid', and this is his story. [Update]Billy passed away in 2013. RIP.

The Aghori believe that nothing is blasphemous or independent from God. The Aghoris are distinct from other Hindu sects and Sadu’s (priests) by their alcoholic and cannibalistic ceremonies. Skulls and other human bones are obtained from the cremation grounds and used due to having life-force which they believe can be harnessed for ritual purposes. They are also alleged to pull bodies from the river Ganges, which are then eaten. They do things which a common man finds to be terrifying, so they overcome fears by facing them and acting out horrors, since they do it regularly it is a common thing for them. The Aghori mainly worship lord Shiva, according to the sect every human is a ‘shava’(dead body) with emotions and they should try to become ‘Shiva’ by denying the human pleasures and practicing Aghori rituals. Commonly living in charnel grounds, they smear cremation ashes on their bodies. Sri Baba Nagnath Yogeshwar is the leading Aghori Sadu ascetic in Varanasi, the Aghori sect being synonymous with the remains of the dead. Suitably his temple or Ashram was located at one of the most famous site associated with death in India, the Burning Ghat (Manikarnika Ghat). He had not bent his arms in 17 years and he is alleged not to have eaten any food in the last 7 years, existing solely on water. This ascetic devotion has deformed his body with his shoulders and elbows being locked in place and holding his arms at 45 degree angles from his body. Kinaram ashram in Varanasi is the main location of worship for the Aghori as it is the location of the tomb of Baba Kinaram their patron saint. The entrance to the Ashram is flanked by two columns of concrete skulls stacked on top of each other. Avadhoot Bhagwan Ram Kustha Sewa Ashram is located on the other bank of the Ganges. Founded in 1961 and while its roots where in Aghori they had moved on as they said ‘into the modern world’. They explained that the skull had power or Prana which the Aghori would harness but also as the early Aghori would practice hermiticism it served the practical purpose in scaring off people. However it was symbolic of the ultimate reality a concept called ‘Atman’ or the individual soul or essence. Part of their development was moving from practices that were seen as abhorrent to working with the lowest of society, the lepers. With this view, Parampujya Aghoreshwar started a service centre at Parao, Varanasi for the lepers in January 1962. Guinness book of records for treating more leprosy patients in the world with 99,045 patients registered with ‘full’ leprosy and 147,503 with ‘partial’ leprosy all of which have been cured. The final part of this essay took place down the winding maze of Varanasi lanes to the tiny temple of Shri Baba Chamunda Ram, an Aghori, Tantra and Yantra yogi. He filled both a skull and skull cap with whisky and other liquids and went through the ritual of blessing the liquid, chanting mantra and then drinking from the skull.

In October 2016 I returned Delhi to find out why Scottish travel writer William Dalrymple called it the ‘City of Djinn’. According to the Koran, we share the earth with another race of beings, ‘the Djinn’. Formed of smokeless fire and imbued with magical powers including shapeshifting and influencing humans and in the worst cases of negative Djinn, possession.

Vrindavan, the Indian holy city, where Hindus believe Krishna grew up and is home to the Hare Krishna movement is also the City of Widows. The city is home to an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 widows, begging on the streets and getting accommodation where they can. One widow, Sarwihawti 85, originally from Kolkata, had spent the last 25 years subsisting on the streets after being thrown out of her home by her son on her husbands death. She, like many others was told to go to Vrindavan and endure the centuries old traditional faith of women like her; ‘to take baksheesh’ in other words to beg on the streets for alms from the thousands of pilgrims that throng to the holy sites in the city or are completing the 15 kilometer pilgrimage around Vrindravan and nearby Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna. Coming predominantly from West Bengal, the women tell stories of being ill-treated, derided and some cases starved by their husbands families. The widows can earn a pittance at the Bhajan ashrams that dot Vrindravan, the most famous being Sri Bagwan Bhajan Ashram where in exchange for singing an chanting Bhajan hymns the women are given a handful of rice and Rs 10 – 15, about 20 cent US. The Ashrams also provide dilapidated accommodation which is pathetic, over crowded with only the most basic of amenities. According to recent report filed by the District Legal Services Authority, a sweeper had to be paid R 200 to take her body, cut it into pieces, stuff these in a sack and dump them in the Yammuna river.

Both NGO’s and State government of Uttar Pradesh are working towards providing more accommodation and medical support for these vulnerable elderly women and their reintegration into society but what also is needed is the criminalization of the tradition. The NCW recommended fixing of liability on the children under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 to precisely this.

Images of Croagh Patrick and pilgrims, in County Mayo, Ireland.

Work in progress.These images are part of a series I've started with Changing Faces, a charity to help people who have a disfigurement find a way to live the life they want.

Gatka is a weapon-based Indian martial art associated with the Punjab state and identified with Panjabi Sikh culture. The word gatka properly refers to the wooden sticks which were used for sparring. The various other weapons are taught in the ritual aspect of the art. These are demonstrated in preset routines or performed as a sword dance during Sikh festivals. Heera Singh is a Master of Gatka and after visiting his shoe shop he took me to visit his students and they showed me the use of the Chakar. The Chakar looks like a wagon wheel with weights at the end of each spoke. The chakar is wielded by grasping the centre and spinning it around, causing damage upon anyone coming too close to the spinning weights. On a rooftop behind the Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh temple was an evening Gatka class. The Akhara (school) was free for the poor and children trained hard practicing the skills of their culture.

Founded in 1977 Netraheen Vikas Sansthan school has been working for the rehabilitation and education of blind students for the last 35 years in Suncity, Jodhpur. All the teachers many of whom are even blind also are well trained and highly qualified. Providing free education with board for blind children from all over northern India. Outside if the usual academia the school syllabus is structured to give a practical step up in life, lessons include trades and life skills. Home Science, regular cooking & hobby classes are conducted for blind girls and boys to make them self dependant Both male and female students are taught practical skills that can provide an income. These skills include the canning of chairs, weaving & spinning of bed sheets & towels on handloom machines. The students are paid stipend for these activities under Learn and Earn programme. This is combined with modern educational subjects including computer studies and languages provided the students, many of whom from impoverished backgrounds with an advantage in life otherwise unavailable to them and their families. Free Medical checkups at frequent intervals are organized at school campus with the assistance of local hospitals and clinics. Free medicines are also provided to blind students as and when required. The check ups are preformed by renowned AIIMS, Delhi alumni doctors of ASG Eye Hospital, Jodhpur at regular intervals. Even eye operations of some blind students are also done where ever possible. Again providing students with access to a level of medical care and assistance that would otherwise be difficult, if in some cases impossible to attain. Photographer Darragh Mason Field visited the school in late October 2012 and documented the daily life of the students there.

This Akhara Kushti is situated east of Kailash in the neighborhood of Gari in south New Delhi. In November 2009 I visited the Akhara. Here some twenty 'Pehalvans' or wrestlers train under the watchful eye of Guru Charan Singh. The soil pit where the wrestling takes place is sacred to the Pehalvans and is mixed with oil and ghee. They will only walk barefoot in the pit and footwear is strictly taboo. Traditional Indian wrestling is a way of life that finds its roots in ancient India. Practitioners live and train together following the Spartan rules of the Akhara, practicing vegetarianism, celibacy and a strict avoidance of smoking and alcohol, the wrestlers concentrate on building strength and perfecting technique. Less and less boys are turning up to train, as the life of a wrestler is a hard one with very few succeeding in making a living from competition. But despite that, there are still many Akhara's left and some very committed people who are working hard to keep this ancient fighting art from dying.

While researching the Aghori way of life in the city of Varanasi I was taken to Avadhoot Bhagwan Ram Kustha Sewa Ashram, which is located on the other bank of the Holy Ganges. There it was explained to me that the temple was founded in 1961 and while its roots where in Aghori they had moved on as they said ‘into the modern world’. Part of their development was moving from practices that were seen as abhorrent to working with the lowest of society, the lepers. With this view, Parampujya Aghoreshwar started a service centre at Parao, Varanasi for the lepers in January 1962. This centre adopts the Ayurvedic and Fakiri system of treatment and prepares most of the medicines and received acknowledgement from the Guinness book of records for treating more leprosy patients in the world with 99,045 patients registered with ‘full’ leprosy and 147,503 with ‘partial’ leprosy all of which have been cured. The patients are treated for free and on recovery they are expected to serve in the kitchens to treat the current patients for a period of time in return. No debt, no medical insurance. When one looks at the prohibitive cost of medical treatment in the west, particularly the United States, one can only look at the Avadhoot Bhagwan ashram and its inclusive way it accepts patients and the incredible success rate as simply extraordinary. The Ashram not only provides free treatment but also clothing, food and accommodation to the Leper patients. The treatment program is not only designed to heal the physical aliment but also to treat the mental and emotional damage suffered through Leprosy. In that the patient is shown to be an important member of the community at the Ashram, valued by their peers and Ashram members and contributing to the wellbeing of all. Not only has the Ashram the greatest level of success in treating this devastating disease worldwide it also has great success with cured patients returning to mainstream society leading full lives with families and friends.

The Brain Bank, based at Imperial College London, collects precious tissue from people with and without Parkinson's who have decided to leave their brains to Parkinson's research. The tissue is supplied to researchers studying Parkinson's all over the world. This research could lead to treatments, a cure and life for everyone affected by Parkinson's improving.

Rye has a long history in the Guy Fawkes celebrations, but the tradition behind it goes back further than the time of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Much research has taken place to establish the origin of this almost pagan rite, and many theories have been put forward. One recalls the Danes and their funeral rites of casting off a burning boat bearing the mortal remains of a Viking. Many factors regarding this possible origin, however, do not match up with the Rye ceremony; but it has been discovered that, whenever a boat was captured from the Danes, it was the practice of the Ryers to haul the vessel through the streets and finally burn it on the cliffs, as a warning to other marauders at sea. This is a more likely theory of the origin, but does not quite explain why ‘Rye burns its boats.’ By far the most likely start of the custom occurred during the late 14th century when Rye, almost surrounded by water, was one of our major ports, responsible for supplying and manning a large part of the fleets. Only 30 miles of water separated the town from the age-old enemy, France. Sorties and reprisals were frequent, and the French invaded the town a number of times, pillaging and firing property wherever they went. Rye – surrounded by the sea from three sides and a heavy stone wall on the other – was ransacked and burned to the ground by the French several times in this period, mainly because she was a member of the Cinque Ports Fleet. It was quite possible that when the townsfolk of Rye were outnumbered by the French, Ryers would set fire to their own vessels rather than risk them being captured.

"The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979." Wikipedia. Many of S21's victims ended up in the killing fields like this waste ground site just outside Phnom Penh.

A silk textile factory in the textile district of Varanasi, India.

Smokey Mountain, the people of Stung Meanchey. Known to the locals as Smokey Mountain, Stung Meanchey is the municipal dump in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The Dump is a dangerous place, full of toxic waste sink holes and reckless truck drivers. It's in this place about 800 people make their home. They scavenge through the city's rubbish for anything of recyclable value to sell on earning about 30 pence a day. I visited the dump in March of 2009.

Britain's last Rodeo is located deep in the heart of the Llanthony Valley, surrounded by The Black Mountains of Monmouthshire, Wales. Set in a thriving rural community, the longstanding popularity of the Rodeo is driven by full support of local people. The Rodeo event features riders from across the UK competing to stay on the longest. Its the last show of its kind in the UK.

Karni Mata Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke, 30km from Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India. It is also known as the Temple of Rats. The most intriguing aspect of the temple is the 20,000-odd rats that call this temple home. These holy rats are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects. The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.

The 22nd of March marks a special day in the year for Shejh Adrihusein Shehu and his sons. They will celebrate the Sufi ritual 'Ijra’ during which Shejh Adrihusein Shehu will pierce the cheeks of his sons and followers. The Shejh and his family are Rufa’i Sufis and on this day they celebrate Sultan Nevrus, according to the old Persian calendar, the first day of the year and regarded as the start of Spring. They culminate in a ritual called 'Ijra’ in which Shejh Adrihusein Shehu pierces the cheeks of his sons and some of his followers with long needles called ‘Zarfs’. Devotees chant the Zikr - a devotional mantra-like repetition of verses from the Quran. I met Shejh Adrihusein Shehu at his Tekke (Sufi gathering place) where he talked to me about Sufism. ‘Most people are here, on the surface of the ocean,’ he began, with his hand gestured horizontally in the air. 'But Sufis, Sufis go deep, go under,’ and he swept his hand down in a diving arc. His eldest son Sejjid Rina Shehu took me on a tour of the Tekke. In the centre of the wall was a semi-circular enclave called a Mihrab. It was bathed in green light and housed many Zarfs, ranging in size from the small for the boys to the large and heavy for the men. Sejjid is 25 and was first pierced when he was five years old. His brother Xhihan is 19 and experienced his first piercing at seven, and Emir the youngest of the three at 12 began his piercings at six. Sejjid explained what he took from the practice of Zikr: how it made him content and happy. He radiated a sense of calm as he talked. The piercing he explained, wasn’t the focus of the day, it was only part of the ceremony. The focus was the Zikr, the devotion to God. The Tekke is full to capacity the day of the piercing. The floor is filled with kneeling Sufi devotees, both men and boys dressed in white and black robes and felt Fez. For several hours the Sufi’s sing and chant, the songs building up into a guttural, repetitive and immersive crescendo. The day reaches its zenith and Emir, the Shejh’s youngest son stands before him stoically as the chanting Shejh passes a small Zarf through his cheek. Emir does not react and retakes his place in the core of the circle of swaying Sufi’s while several boys wait their turn. Men stand forth who wish to be pierced, including Sejjid, his father presses his fingers on the outside of his son’s cheek and presses the point of the zarf through the flesh in a well practiced movement. The pierced Sufis do not bleed as they sway back and forth holding the large bulb of the zarf in their left hands. The only blood appearing was a small trickle after the zarf was removed. The Shejh promotes a message of religious peace stating ‘We all believers in the same God, but take different paths.' The tradition is a responsibility and inheritance running through the generations of the family of Shejh Adrihusejn and at its core a mysticism and belief in the divine that is at once compelling and beautiful.

The Ottery St Mary's Tar Barrel run tradition is hundreds of years old. The exact origins are lost in time but it probably started after the gunpowder plot of 1605. The festival is wild and has a real pagan feel to it. Only those born in the town are allowed to carry barrels. The carrying starts in during the day with the younger children carrying small barrels and works up the men working in teams to carry enormous barrels through the towns crowded streets.

This Is Where We Meet, focuses on bachelor brothers Michael and John Kielty and their weekly routine. Both in their sixties, every Friday at 11.00am, the pair call into Guiry's pub for a drink after collecting their pension. I joined them for six weeks. The pub is not alive during the day. It is at night when its real business is done. In the daylight it is a place of long shadows and people with nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. But there is camaraderie and laughter amongst the old men in the pub The 'Bachelor farmer' is a residual effect of the great famine of the 1840's. A victim of social pathologies which affect both their farming and their social and personal life in negative ways. In order to prevent the farm being divided up into smaller holdings, the eldest son inherited everything. Other son's we're prevented from marrying until middle age or older in order for them to work on the farm and it was very common for them not to marry at all. The result is a strata of marginalized men. The faces in this work are from a troubled but in many ways innocent generation. They are faces that are vanishing from Ireland.

Between the years 1964 and 1973 more bombs were dropped on Laos than on Germany and Japan combined during World War II "Lao PDR has the unwanted distinction of being per capita the most heavily bombed nation in the world. Between the years 1964 and 1973, the United States flew more than half a million bombing missions, delivering more than two million tons of explosive ordnance, in an attempt to block the flow of North Vietnamese arms and troops through Laotian territory. The ordnance dropped include more than 266 million submunitions (known as "bombies" in Lao) released from cluster bombs." uxolao.org

Evening Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat by the banks of the holy Ganges in Varanasi.