“Theyyam”. Preparation for the Theyyam performance in the surroundings of Kasaragod city. Theyyam is a popular ritual dance form of North Kerala, particularly in Kannur and Kasargod districts. The Theyyam represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. Make up of Theyyams is done by specialist. There are different types of face painting for which primarily and secondary colours are used. Therefore it is essential that the makeup man should have perfect knowledge of primary and secondary colour combinations. Sometimes, it takes several hours to paint each face. Photo location: Kasaragod, India. (Photo and caption by Rafal Ziejewski/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, smokes marijuana on a chillum (pipe) at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple during the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu February 27, 2014. Hindu holy men from Nepal and India come to this temple to take part in the Shivaratri festival. Celebrated by Hindu devotees all over the world, Shivaratri is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and holy men mark the occasion by praying, smoking marijuana or smearing their bodies with ashes. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A devotee with his body painted poses as he waits to perform during a ritual as part of the annual Shiva Gajan religious festival at Sona Palasi village, in West Bengal, India, April 11, 2016. Devotees offer sacrifices and perform acts of devotion during the festival in the hopes of winning the favour of Hindu god Shiva and ensuring the fulfillment of their wishes, and also to mark the end of the Bengali calendar year. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

An Indian labourer sifts coloured powder, known as “gulal”, to be used during the forthcoming spring festival of Holi, inside a factory at Fulbari village on the outskirts of Siliguri on March 6, 2017. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month, and will be celebrated on March 13 this year. (Photo by Diptendu Dutta/AFP Photo)

In this Friday, January 7, 2011 photo, people carry baskets of coal scavenged illegally at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand where a community of coal scavengers live and work. The world's biggest coal users – China, the United States and India – have boosted coal mining in 2017, in an abrupt departure from last year's record global decline for the heavily polluting fuel and a setback to efforts to rein in climate change emissions. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/AP Photo)

Indian policemen keep guard from the window of a residential house during curfew in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, July 13, 2016. Curfew imposed in the disputed Himalayan region continues for the fifth consecutive day to suppress anti-India violence following the Friday killing of Burhan Wani, chief of operations of Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's largest rebel group. (Photo by Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo)

A picture made available on 13 May 2016 shows A Tiwa girl performing her traditional dance as they celebrated the Wanchuwa festival in Karbi Anglong District of Assam state, India, 11 May 2016. Wanchuwa is one of the most important festivals of the Tiwa tribal community living in the hills as it is related with agriculture which is the mainstay of their economy. Tiwas pray for a bountiful harvest during this festival and to protect their crops from pest and other natural calamities. Tiwa is a major tribe of Assam state who practice Jhum or shifting cultivation for their living in the hills. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)

A monkey drinks water from a tap on a hot afternoon in Jammu, the winter capital Kashmir, India, 17 May 2016. Temperatures of around 42 degrees Celsius were forecast in the region. According to the news reports the Indian government decided to divert water by its river interlinking plans from rivers like Brahmaputra and the Ganges towards those rivers facing the drought likesituation . Many Indian states have been affected by drought and have been hit hard by water scarcity. (Photo by Jaipal Singh/EPA)