A Hindu Sanyasi
A sanyasi, also spelled sannyasi, refers to a Hindu ascetic or religious renunciant who has given up worldly possessions and attachments to pursue spiritual goals. The word sanyasi has its roots in Sanskrit.
Fakir
Indian Fakir [Indischer Fakir]
![Indian Fakir [Indischer Fakir]](https://www.paperjewels.org/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/slides/indischer-fakir.jpg?itok=M4M-SrmQ "Indian Fakir [Indischer Fakir]")
An Austrian cyanotype (blue-dyed) postcard, where imprinted on the back before the name is "Wohlgeboren Herrn/Frau" which literally means "well born" or "of good birth," which translates into English as "Honorable" or "Esquire." THe honorific was
Lama Beggars
[Original caption] A Lama Beggar. The Lamas are priests of the great Buddhist religion.
Hindu Religious Beggar
A striking studio portrait in which the viewer's eyes are drawn by to subject's wide-open gaze. Was he asked not to blink? Or did the photographer amend the negative?
Group of Indian Fakirs
A very early postcard of fakirs or sadhus, usually shown individually in close-up. Combridge & Co.
A Begging Fakir Punjab
[Original caption] A Begging Fakir.
Tibetan Mendicant
An uncommon type of postcard flourished in Darjeeling, with individuals on real-photo black and white postcards carefully silhouetted and then individually hand-painted.
An Indian Fakir
Although it is a single fakir at the doorway who is the subject of the postcard's title, it is the colors of the entrance to the Golden Temple in Amritsar that catch our eye.
A Benares Brahmin
An early (undivided back) postcard from Bombay's premiere bookstore and important postcard publisher and retailer at the turn of the century.
Fakirs
[Original caption] Fakirs. The Fakirs are a large body of religious fanatics. They go naked or in filthy rags, and partake only of the meanest food, and that without request or thanks.
