This oldest city, located on the banks of the holy river Ganges in India, is steeped in history, spirituality, and culture. Varanasi also known as Banaras, what do you feel or what comes into your mind when you hear the name? Isn’t it people, the crowd of Sadus, devotees, river Ganga, Kashi Viswanath Temple, Banaras Hindu University (BHU)? Yes, it is famous for all these things but, for me I see the images that are floating, moving around the city, and some just still. I could see the photographs clicked by iconic photographers, and also some clicked by photo enthusiasts. This is the place where one cannot go just once, they have to travel frequently.
I have always dreamt of going to Banaras to have a good photo walk around the gullies of Banaras and the banks of the Ganga rivers. Yes, those places must have been photographed millions of times, but still, all the photos have their own significance. We got a chance to visit Banaras around August 2020. I was really Excited. I was only dreaming about the photos I could get around Banaras. But my bad luck it rained mostly, and the rivers were so much flooded that we could not go around ghats easily. We just had to visit around the gullies which also was an experience of a lifetime.
The major attractions for us as a photographer would be :
- The golden sun over the holy Ganga river
- Devotees and Sadhus
- All the temples around
- Narrow lanes and the Bazaars
- Boats rides and the Ghats
- Aarati Ceremony in the evening
- Street life, festivals, and celebrations
I would still like to visit the place once more, at least once more. and just stay there for 3-4 days just photographing. Below are some of the photos clicked by me during that visit. (Click a photograph and the gallery appears.)
