2010 Travel Photography Scholarship

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

India | Wednesday, August 18, 2010 | 5 photos

Not many people my age, visit Varanasi.Armed with a basic DSLR, I was ready to find out what the oldest city of India had to offer.
In the beginning all your senses receive an unpleasant shock- the noise, millions of smells, it’s all overpowering and sudden.
But as I walked on the ghaat’s, and saw this sacred river from bygone years flowing right in front of me-i was hooked. W
hat sense this archaic city made to me is what I have captured in these photographs.Varanasi is a pilgrim spot, staunch Hindu’s believe dying in this city would release their soul from the cycle of rebirth.
And in this first picture, a family has brought the ashes of the deceased family member to immerse in the Ganges.
Sometimes when family's are too poor to make it here, they drift the dead body and it finds it's way to these banks and some kind soul will always perform the final rites.Lineage and traditions are fast disappearing, but in nooks like this we find a whole family of grandfathers and grandchildren rocking that boat,struggling to keep the bonds strong.
Everything is divided, the world, it's people, this picture's story is about how death takes away classifications, our ashes flow in one body of water,
who can now differentiate between high and low caste? Our wishes and prayers bob with the one common current from the river.
The weavers plight is that they make beautiful silk sari’s which cost thousands of rupees but are paid only a 100 rs for every day of work.
365 days of the year, a 45 minute prayer ceremony is conducted facing the river, people watch in awe.
I studied basics of photography in college. My job is to tell stories, i am a theatre performer,always looking for photographic moments, love to travel and open to new things.
I don't know much, so this is a good opportunity to learn.