Streets of Varanasi.

My curiosity for Varanasi started when I first saw footage of cremation sites along the Ganges river in the film Baraka by director Ron Fricke many years ago. I was awestruck by the beauty of the holy city, the colourful traditional garments, and the daily religious practice for the living and the dead. In this series, I wanted to explore the subtlety of daily life in a culture steeped in elaborate religious ceremonies and in an ancient city that predated history. As Mark Twain famously quoted, “Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Over the course of 10 days, I immersed myself in the rhythm of life along the banks of the holy Ganges from dawn until dusk. The life force of Varanasi seems to uniquely encapsulate the transcendence of time separating the past from the future.