An (Extra)ordinary Evening in Varanasi

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“Creativity is putting your imagination to work, and it’s produced the most extraordinary results in human culture.”

~ Ken Robinson

It was an ordinary evening in Varanasi that we were boating along the river Ganges. The lights on the ghats turned on one by one as the dusk fell over the city.  The priests were waving the lamps towards the holy river Ganges to perform the evening aarti, which is a ritual performed regularly on the famous Dasaswamedh Ghat in Varanasi. The tapering flames of the lamps were clearly visible from a distance. The reflection of lights in the rippling water made the scene extraordinary. It looked like the water caught fire. 🙂

evening varanasi, varanasi, ghats, aarti, lights

I tried to capture the view with my Sony Cyber Shot W-190. But, I was standing in the middle of a moving rowing boat and made quite an effort to maintain my balance. 🙂  So, you can see, most of the images became blurry. That time I was upset and thought about deleting these images. But thank god, I didn’t! Now when I look back these ordinary images they remind me of those ‘extra’ ordinary moments in Varanasi.

varanasi ghat, varanasi, evening aarti

light reflection, varanasi, evening

light reflection in ganges, varanasi, evening aarti

lights, evening aarti, varanasi, india

Published in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: (Extra)ordinary.
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18 thoughts on “An (Extra)ordinary Evening in Varanasi”

  5. What I mean is…

    How did you find the people? Still the same arrogance? Are they mellowed by time?

    Those rampant oxen, who used to held the traffic for hours, just because they didn’t want to budge, are they mild enough?

    Is Benaras still beautiful in morning, when the Pandas walk like a dainty girl, avoiding the trash, while chanting Rudrashtadhyayi?

    O my namesake! How did you find my birthplace? Is Bholenath still in search of ganja?

    You are blessed to visit him.

    http://theopalmoon.blogspot.in/2015/09/benaras.html?m=1

    http://theopalmoon.blogspot.in/2015/04/the-actor.html?m=1

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    1. Varanasi has an eternal charm…the super chaotic streets, the narrow and dirty alleys, running into cows and oxen on the roads, morning prayers and evening aartis and especially the rituals on the ghats all day long – are some things that, perhaps, will never change in Benaras 🙂 Btw, your story of Benaras is an interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

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