Portrait of a young actor from the Ramlilla, the stage play of the great Hindu Epic the Ramayana, Varanasi (Benares), Uttar Pradesh State, India

Portrait of a young actor in jewels and make-up from the Ramlilla, the stage play of the great Hindu Epic, the Ramayana, Varanasi (Benares), Uttar Pradesh State, India

Portrait of a young actor in jewels and make-up as Sita, wife of Rama, from the Ramlilla, the stage play of the great Hindu Epic, the Ramayana, Varanasi (Benares), Uttar Pradesh State, India

Young boys training to become Brahmin priests, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia

Gate entrance to Angkor Thom with guarding statues, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Chyasin Mandir, Durbar Square, Bhaktapur, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, Asia

Indian people go about their daily business in front of a pillar painted with the Hindu god Shiva on that ghats of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Ganesh Hindu Festival, Paris, France, Europe

The Besakih Temple, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Beggar outside the Hindu Subrahmanya Temple, Munnar, Kerala, India, Asia

Colourful decoration outside the Hindu Subrahmanya Temple, Munnar, Kerala, India, Asia

Hindus bathing in the early morning in the holy river Ganges (Ganga) along Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi (Benares), Uttar Pradesh state, India, Asia

The tall golden Hindu statue of Murugan in front of the 272 steps to the Batu Caves with temples and shrines, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

The tall golden Hindu statue of Murugan in front of the 272 steps to the Batu Caves with temples and shrines, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Statue of the Hindu god Ganesha in Sri Venkatachalapathi and Alamelu Temple outside the Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Joranda monks performing obeisance at temple containing a dhuni, an eternal butter lamp, at dusk, Joranda, Dhenkanal, Orissa, India, Asia

The highly decorative Gopuram (entrance tower) to Sri Srinivasa Perumal Hindu Temple in Little India, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia

Pilgrims at east sunrise-facing entrance to mid 13th century Sun Temple, dedicated to Surya, the Hindu Sun God, constructed as a twelve-wheeled chariot drawn by seven horses, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Konarak, Puri District, Odisha, India, Asia

Hindu devotees placing lit puja lamps in temple courtyard to celebrate annual festival of Shivraatri, Koraput district, Odisha, India, Asia

A Hindu Shrine within the Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

A Hindu Shrine within the Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Young village girl beside restored miniature terracotta Hindu temple to Shiva, Baranagar, rural West Bengal, India, Asia

Sri Srinivasa Perumal Hindu temple, Hindu priest (Brahmin) performing puja ceremony and rituals, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia

A Hindu Shrine within the Batu Caves, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Thaipusam Hindu Tamil festival celebrated in Little India, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Asia

Hindu men, women and children performing evening puja at Gomati bathing ghat, seagulls nearby, Dwarka, Gujarat, India, Asia

Hindu procession, Bali, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Hindu shrine in grounds of temple, for women who want to have a child, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia

Hindu boy, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Middle East

Indian Hindu schoolchildren at state school at Kaparda village in Rajasthan, Northern India

Young Indian boy celebrating annual Hindu Holi festival of colours with powder paints in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Indian woman and child celebrating annual Hindu Holi festival of colours with powder paints in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Indian Hindu pilgrims bathing in The Ganges River at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Holy City of Varanasi, Benares, India

Indian Hindu pilgrims bathing in The Ganges River at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Holy City of Varanasi, Benares, India

Indian Hindu schoolchildren at state school at Kaparda village in Rajasthan, Northern India

Indian Hindu schoolchildren at state school at Kaparda village in Rajasthan, Northern India

Young Indian boy celebrating annual Hindu Holi festival of colours with powder paints in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, Maharashtra, India

Indian Hindu schoolchildren at state school at Kaparda village in Rajasthan, Northern India

Hindu girl cooking while her father plays musical instrument in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Children at Janmashtami festival (Krishna's birthday) at Bhaktivedanta Manor ISKCON (Hare Krishna) temple, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Devotees gathered in the grounds of the 12th century Jagannath Temple, dedicated to Lord Jagannath, embodiment of Krishna, waiting for a sign from Krishna, in Puri,the oldest of India's four holiest Hindu religious centres, State of Odisha, India, Asia

Koneswaram Kovil Hindu temple, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Asia

Dakshinkali Shrine, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, Asia

Queue outside the temple for the Janmashtami Hindu festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Ganesh Festival in Paris, France, Europe

Brahmachari singing in Parmath, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia

Brahmachari singing in Parmath, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, Asia

Chariot Festival participants, Shri Kanaga Thurkkai Amman Temple, Ealing, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Bhoramdeo temple, Kabirdham District, Chattisgarh, India, Asia

Boy recycling wood after a cremation at the Pashupatinath Temple, a Hindu temple of Lord Shiva on the banks of the Bagmati River, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

India. Small home of hindu family, omana radhara krishnan (mother) and her daughters rashmi (14) and maya (11). They will soon get a better house thanks to house building project funded by cnewa and implemented by diocese of kottayam social services in villages of wayanad district, kerala. 2007

School girls make an offering at a Hindu temple in Durbar Square, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia

The flower market,Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

street scene, in Dasaswamedh Ghat, Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Annual Hindu ceremony for Tamils in Europe at Hamm, largest Hindu temple in Europe, Canal represents the Ganges River, Dravida Temple, Kamadchi, Puja, Hamm, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

Keshdan ceremony, baby has hair shaved off which is later sacrificed in the temple in front of the Hindu temple fo Jagannath, Puri, Orissa, India, Asia

Girls of Indian ethnicity at a Hindu Festival in Georgetown, Guyana, South Amerika

Boy disguised as God Shiva with blue face paint, portrait, Hampi, Vijayanagar, Karnataka, southern India, India, Asia

Visitors trying to clean themselves after the celebrations of Holi festival, Vrindaban, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Girls at a Hindu Festival in Georgetown, Guyana, South Amerika

Girl at Hindu temple festival, Thrissur, Kerala, South India, India, Asia

Nepalese girl, portrait, in Nargakot, Nepal, Asia

Thaipusam festival in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu, South India, India, Asia

Child at a Hindu temple festival, Thrissur, Kerala, South India, India, Asia

Thaipusam festival in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu, South India, India, Asia

Thaipusam festival in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu, South India, India, Asia

Thaipusam festival in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, Tamilnadu, South India, India, Asia

Striking Mongol features distinguish the face of a woman and her child (who is blind) living in the ruins of the Qala-i-Dokthar (Daughter's Castle), outside of the town of Bamiyan, August 30, 2002. Most of the old town was destroyed and up to 20,000 people of the region might have perished when Bamiyan fell to the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the ancient Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people.

Striking Mongol features distinguish the face of Hamir Mohammed, his daughter and grandson (who is blind), all living in the ruins of the Qala-i-Dokthar (Daughter's Castle), outside of the town of Bamiyan, August 30, 2002. Most of the old town was destroyed and up to 20,000 people of the region might have perished when Bamiyan fell to the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the ancient Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people

Portrait of a young Indian girl with markings on her face, Kanoi, Rajasthan, India

A mother holding her baby girl, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

A mother holding her sleepy baby, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India

Girl at a Ngaben or Cremation Ceremony, Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia