Naga Sadhu’s Recognized in France for Health Initiative Conducted at Maha Kumbh 2025

MUMBAI:
The revered Naga Sadhus have brought global recognition to India through the ‘Naga Saint Eye Test’ — a powerful public health initiative that won silver lion in the Health & Wellness category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. The campaign was led by Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) in collaboration with the Eyebetes Foundation, a charitable organisation committed to raising awareness about diabetes and preventable blindness.

India is home to nearly 100 million diabetics, of whom over 60% remain undiagnosed. Diabetes is also the leading cause of preventable blindness. Conceptualized by Godrej Creative Lab, the in-house creative studio of GCPL, ‘Naga Saint Eye Test’ took a bold and culturally rooted approach to spotlight this issue of diabetes-induced blindness.

Leveraging the spiritual aura and visibility of the Naga Sadhus, the health initiative transformed them into living eye vision testing charts, with bold Hindi letters painted on their bare backs in Devanagari script. Those unable to read the letters were guided to a free eye check-up camp. The initiative was conducted at the Triveni Sangam site during the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Swati Bhattacharya, Global Head of Godrej Creative Lab, the in-house creative studio of GCPL, said, “The most complex human problems can have the simplest of solutions. Our first win was when the Naga Sadhu community said ‘yes’ to us. This win will now make the Eyebetes foundation get visibility all over the world. Our idea has travelled from the world’s biggest spiritual festival to the world’s biggest creative festival.”

Dr. Nishant Kumar, Founder, Eyebetes Foundation, said, “Preventable blindness due to diabetes is a cause close to my heart. In collaboration with Godrej Consumer Products and Godrej Creative Lab, we transformed awareness into action at the Maha Kumbh in a way that was both culturally resonant and emotionally powerful. Using Naga sadhus as live eye charts captured public imagination and sparked thousands of on-ground vision screenings. Winning a Silver Lion at Cannes not only validates the creativity and purpose behind this campaign but also puts a global spotlight on an Indian innovation that is saving sight and lives.”

With 600 million people reached and 400,000 individuals received eye care, the ‘Naga Saint Eye Test’ became one of the largest public health interventions at Maha Kumbh 2025. By introducing the social initiative at one of the world’s largest spiritual gatherings, GCPL and Eyebetes Foundation brought this urgent public health issue to the forefront—using tradition and faith to connect with people in a way that was both meaningful and memorable.