Baul is a spiritual movement in Bangladesh that denies an afterlife, and allows men and women equal status. Anyone wishing to join becomes a disciple of a guru and must live by begging. After a long initiation process the believer receives the khilafat and, dressed in a shroud from that moment on, breaks all ties with his or her former life. The believer is now free from all emotions, relations, possessions and lust.

Snigdha Zaman (b. 1968, Bangladesh) produced this portrait of Baul, which since the 19th century has been repressed in the overwhelmingly Muslim and Hindu Bangladesh.