This project is all about the life that exists at the Ghats of Varanasi. I took a trip last February to Varanasi, India which is considered to be the most spiritual and holy place in India. I had originally gone to Varanasi due to my grandfather’s last wish being for his ashes to be interred in the most holy river, the Ganges river, or Mother Ganga as she is also called.
I was so moved by life at the river and the Ghats, which are the steps leading to the River. Early in the morning, before even a glimmer of light appears in the sky, the locals begin to gather at the Ganges to cleanse their bodies, bathe away their sins, pray, make offerings, wash their clothes, cremate the dead, and perform the rituals to free the souls of the departed. There is a rhythm of life there with such a variety of sights, sounds, color, and smells, and the occasional snake charmer. Many people go through their whole daily routine right at the river. Hundreds of Sadhus, who have relinquished worldly life for a spiritual one, have set up camp along the river in a line of individual tents where they sit naked with white skin from chalk or ash. Only their hands reveal the true dark color of their skin. Their heads are shaven or crowned with swirls of dreadlocks. Even the many wild dogs and cows have their own community, and are very much a part of the holy tapestry of river life.
