India in images: 2016 HT photographs that you must absolutely click through

What do Naga sadhus, wrestlers and an emu have in common? They all make for eye-catching images. Hindustan Times’s photojournalists curate the best photographs they clicked in 2016.

What do Naga sadhus, wrestlers and an emu have in common? They all make for eye-catching images. Hindustan Times’s photojournalists curate their best photographs they clicked in 2016.

A woman makes HT photojournalist Deepak Sharma’s frame at the annual cattle fair in Pushkar, Rajasthan, in November. Pushkar becomes a photographer’s delight when it hosts the world’s largest camel fair. (Deepak Sharma/ HT Photo)

Dadar beach in Mumbai becomes a spot where horses cool down on a hot summer day. (Kunal Patil/ HT Photo)

Wrestler Rajesh Paul trains besides Kolkata’s iconic Howrah Bridge. Paul, a member of the Kapil Deo Ashram, practises a form of mud wrestling called kushti and his sport is believed to be 3000 year old. (Samir Jana/ HT Photo)

Mahettar Ram Tandon, 76, gets noticed. He has tattooed the name of Lord Ram on his body and proudly posed for photographs when HT visited him in his village called Jamgahan in March. Tandon is a follower of Ramnami Samaj, a socio-religious movement of the lower castes in central and northern Chhattisgarh, in which followers practice chanting the name of Ram and tattoo different portions of their body. (Raj K Raj/ HT Photo)

Over 20 people died and hundreds were injured when a flyover being constructed over a crowded road in Kolkata collapsed on March 31. Work on flyover had been delayed and it was over budget. HT’s photograph captured all that was wrong with the jinxed project. (Samir Jana/ HT Photo)

Naga sadhus scream as they rush to take a dip in the Shipra river in Ujjain in April. More than one crore devotees participated in the third shahi snan in Ujjain this year: a spiritual experience that’s become photographer’s Mecca. (Shankar Mourya/ HT Photo)

The Indian Air Force and hundreds of soldiers had to be called in when forest fires engulfed 13 districts in Uttarakhand in April-May. The hill state is notorious for pre-monsoon forest fires which are at times ignited by people to prepare the slopes for cultivation. (Arun Sharma/ HT Photo)

April was hotter than usual in Delhi in 2016 and May sizzled when temperatures reached 47 degrees Celsius. This boy beats the heat by taking a shower at the lawns in India Gate. (Ravi Choudhary/ HT Photo)

A Banjara family sells plastic toys in Ranchi. The Banjaras are part of India’s numerous nomadic communities like the Dom, Gujjar, Sansi, Chauhan and Sikligar who are often marginalised. (HT Photo)

Devotees break their fast on the first day of Ramzan at Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, where the city flocks to for the best Mughlai food. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

Mumbai does look like a city that never sleeps in this photograph shot on the evening of June 29. (Vijayanand Gupta/ HT Photo)

Residents of Saperon Ki Dhaani (snake charmers’ village) near Jaipur adopted this emu after it strayed in and was chased by stray dogs. They have a name for their pet: ‘pakshi-janwar’ or bird-animal. (Himanshu Vyas/ HT Photo)

Thousands of crores of rupees have been spent to clean the Yamuna, but its pollution has risen despite decades of planning. To make the river’s sorrow worse, Delhi immerses idols in the river after celebrating Durga Puja. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)

A reflection of the BMC building is seen on the windshield of a car parked on a packed road in Mumbai. (Arijit Sen/ HT Photo)

Smile, please for in this picture people are celebrating the World Laughter Day at the Nana Nani Park in Girgaon Chowpatty in Mumbai. (HT Photo)

A bird's eye view of the Taj Balloon Festival in Agra. The city hosts the three-day festival to add to its tourism attraction. (Pawan Sharma/ HT Photo)