The highlight of the Maha Kumbh is undoubtedly the ritual bathing of the Naga Sadhus—the most devout and eccentric among the Hindu sadhu Covered in white ash, roaming half-naked or completely nude, constantly smoking chillum and marijuana. These are the ones I was warned about—their tendency to turn aggressive in an instant. (And indeed, I witnessed it happen with my own eyes.) Yet just moments before, they had invited me to sit with them for a round of chai—and for those who wished, a hit from the chillum.