Back to Varanasi

On my last day in Kumbha, I came back to Allahabad by 11:30am and took a bus for Varanasi, a good 4hrs. journey.  By sheer luck I got a seat in the bus. My bus was the one starting after a gap of 3 hrs and hence there was a huge rush. Some political party did put a road block demanding a clean Ganga and hence was the problem.


Relax & enjoy the evening

I reached Varanasi on time for the evening Ganga Arati. It is a real spectacular event which happens every evening. It is an hour of Arati offered by priests in Dashashwamedh ghat & Dr. Rajendra Prasad ghat.  The rituals performed by the priests decked up in similar dress, the sound of bells, mantras in the microphones and the gathering of pilgrims transform the ghats to a different world.

The ghats are embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions.


Ganga Arati

After the Arati was over, the main lights in the ghats are switched off. The rows of Ghats, the centre of activities throughout the day, go to sleep. But some people stay back. That day, I found such a group of women clapping & singing. It was a folklore sung generally in the villages in dedication to God.


A group of Women engrossed in singing

Everything was perfect except the light. At that time there was only some stray light coming from a distance. But there was ample of time and enthusiasm with me. It was a challenging situation but I didn't give up until I got atleast one good image. Thanks to my newly acquired Nikon D700 camera and 24-70 f2.8 lens.



Dusk over the Ganges

It was time to pack up for the day. Everyday I used to enjoy the walk back to my hotel. The roads used to be crowded with cycles and rickshaws. My main attractions were the Chat centres. Some of them were permanent shops, big and small and some were on temporary shacks. But all of their preparations were delicious and real value for money. 

I tried to taste atleast one or two new items every day. But I couldn't complete all those which were available.

I have noticed that a good part of the population in Benaras can communicate in Bengali. As such I discovered this when they started talking to me in Bengali after hearing my Hindi with Bong accent.

My next day also started, as usual at 5:30am, in the ghat. This was my last day and hence I thought of seeing and understanding the characteristics of the ghats as much as possible.



Sunrise on Ganga

I found that seemingly monotonous activities become interesting with time. With time, I tried to melt and become a part of the surroundings. I started to notice the old woman sitting on the steps near the water with so much of blankness in the eyes, a young man trying to sell cocaine to a foreigner, a snake charmer flashing out an animal of rare species to attract people etc. etc.


Morning Prayer

Someone truly said that the Ghats have something intoxicating. It is this intoxication which kept me firmly grounded there throughout the day. There was life or part of it scattered everywhere. From birth to death, Hindus have rituals for all occasions and Varanasi is regarded as the best place to perform each one of it.


Early morning and the bathers

Many photographers took boat rides to capture different angles. But I preferred to stay on the ground and closely witness all that was happeneing around.

My serious photography started with architecture. Here also I couldn't resist myself to spend some time on the old structure on the ghat. This image was later licensed by Getty image.


Rana Mahal Ghat

With the Sun approaching the mid sky, the crowd started to become thin. Suddenly a big group of men & women, draped in brightly coloured dresses landed. From the dialect and dress, it seemed that they were from interior Rajasthan. For an hour the ghat lit up with their colours and filled up with their voices and activities.
 

A woman from Rajasthan

Around 10:30am, I took a break for tea & snacks and then started towards Manikarnika Ghat. I heard many times, but never imagined that a ghat could be so crowded with dead bodies. It is believed that if the body is creamated here, the soul goes staright to Heaven. Lord Shiva whispers the Taraka mantra, the prayer of crossing, in the ear of the dead. As per Hindu mythology, after death the soul has to cross Vaitarani river for purification.


Life in the Ghats of Varanasi

A stroll upto Manikarnika ghat and then I came back. I sat down on a concrete fondation, under a nice concrete umbrella. By then the crowded ghats got transformed to slow motion. The flow of people was syncronised with slowly flowing Ganges. I got so engulfed in the surrounding that I almost forgot that it was my last day I was yet to see the labyrinthine lanes and bye lanes of Kasi.



Life in the lanes of kasi

Slowly I got up and started towards the stairs through which I reached the old city of kasi. While I was looking for some good frames, I noticed variety of sweets displayed in several shops. It was lunch time and I decided to take some sweets for lunch; afterall I had to do justice to my Bengali sweet teeth.



Look at Us

Like the chats, sweets were also very tasty and fresh.

Bulls in Kasi is famous and a very common scene. I have seen many of them in the bye lanes which can stop the traffic; but the pedestrians were so very known to them, both had quite an understanding to peacefully pass across.

With my limited ability I tried to capture a couple of presentable frames of the street life. My efforts must have touched these two little girls. Suddenly one of them came running and requested me to take a shot. However after I was done they just glanced once in my preview LCD of the camera and ran away.

After a stroll through the lanes for about 2 hrs I returned to the ghat. By that time the crowd started to gather again for the evening. I sat on the steps and tried to get into the ambience. I eagerly waited for the Arati. That day I came back early. I had lot of work to do to get clean & fit for the travel next day.

The following day after a quick morning trip to Ghat I came back and started for Chennai. With the dates of Sahi Snan in Mahakumbha drawing closer, the taxis went dearer and I had to commit 50% more fare to hire one upto the airport. It was a long journey back, with a four hours break at Delhi.

Varanasi is truly the paradise for photographers and so is Mahakumbha. Covering both this is in one trip, I was quite happy. Although I have not gone to any other spots in Varanasi and spent all my time in the Ghats (except a couple of hours in the lanes of Kasi), I felt satisfied because this trip had a completely different and special theme. It will probably be another one year to plan for my next trip, rather next long trip.