Photo Essay: Visiting Varanasi

In the month of December 2007 I traveled to Varansi, India.

My first morning in Varanasi I took a boat ride along a 7km stretch of the Ganges River where everyday about 60,000 people go and take a holy dip. Along this same area, 30 large sewers are continuously discharging into the river. The Ganges is so heavily polluted in Varanasi that it is septic and I could not believe that I was seeing people bathing in it, putting the river water in their mouths, and washing their clothes in it. I knew I would see these things but experiencing it is something else. It is hard to believe that there is any life in the river but there is the occasional jumping fish, birds diving for fish, and people throwing fishing nets.

The population in Varanasi exceeds a population of 1,200,000 and it’s not hard to believe walking it's streets. The traffic is mostly motorbikes and rickshaws. The flow is constant and the amount of motion and sound from every direction is disorienting. Monkeys swing from window to window, building to building. Cows and water buffalo appear at every corner. Dogs roam aimlessly looking for scrap. Humans carry the dead through the streets to the burning ghat. And, smells of all kinds and smells I had never expreienced before hit me from every direction and were constant. It’s overwhelming to say the least. The only way I can sum it up is that Varanasi looks, smells, and sounds apocalyptic.

However, with all of the intensity of humanity clearly showing itself at every turn, walking around Varanasi one can't help but be amazed. The unexpected consistantly delivers and the grime and grit creates a unique charm. I feel so fortuanate to have had the experience of my brief visit and look forward to my return. My trip to Varansi will take me weeks perhaps months to fully digest.