Spiritual Fire

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“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.”
(Buddha – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, 563-483 B.C.)

This is a seven headed snake lamp used for Ganga Aarti rituals, it is a symbol of Lord Shiva and signifies that the Lord’s perpetual laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe.
The snake is believed to be the Vasuki Naga, a deadly cobra which shows that Shiva is independent of time and death.
It was shot at sunrise at Dasaswarneth ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).

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Floating dreams

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“Guria’s floating school on the Mansarovar Ghat in Varanasi is popular among children at the ghats.
The school—a 250-square-foot- boat—has been rented for 06,000 a month.
It has 70 students on the rolls, mostly children from the boatmen community.
Singh hopes the school is successful in minimising the vulnerability of these hapless children to abuses.
The school runs for two hours from 5 p.m.
It has a computer, a television, a DVD player and a small library.
A solar panel ensures smooth supply of electricity.

“Earlier these children would not study and loiter with firangis (foreign tourists). Some of them begged, shaming our city. Thanks to this school, they utilise their time in studying now,” says Shanker Manjhi, the owner of the boat.

The students are given snacks after school—an incentive to ensure the children are regular.
“Every day I wait for evening to come here. Unlike other schools, the teacher does not beat you nor do they get angry if I ask questions many times. Once the classes are over, I wait for my candy, ” says young Vaishali.

Pawan Kumar Yadav, who teaches at the school, says, “We give them non-formal primary schooling here, so they can read and write. But our long-term aim is to make them on par with students in mainstream schools.”

(The Week – December 18, 2012)
week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/th…
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This is a new school made by Guria on a boat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras), it welcomes children from the ghats and allows them to have a good school level in order to maintain their schooling and to avoid ending up begging or being involved with prostitution and childlabor.

Being Needed

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“Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.”
(Storm Jameson – English writer, 1891–1986)

A few days ago I met this lady at Dasaswarneth ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was very early and there was a heavy fog all around.
She came from far in order to worship there with a group of other ladies.
They didn’t speak Hindi nor English and I couldn’t understand their South Indian language but they were happy and it was contagious.
After bathing in the holy waters they were drying their hair, and spreading some tumeric on the skin.
They allowed me to take a few pictures and we had a great time all together.
If happiness comes from the feeling of being needed I am sure that this lady knows how much she is needed…

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The Beauty of the Flower

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“By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”
(Rabindranath Tagore – Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, 1861-1941)

At sunrise many women spread their sarees along the Ganges after washing them.
They look huge petals of extraordinary flowers which bring life to the awaking ghats.
This festival of colours and patterns becomes a treat for the lense of a photographer and a tribute to femininity…

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Being the Noise

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“There is a community of the spirit.
Join it, and feel the delight of walking in the noisy street and being the noise.Drink all your passion, and be a disgrace.Close both eyes to see with the other eye.”
(Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī – Persian poet, 1207-1273)

I often take a few pictures of this sadhu along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
This time he was walking on main ghat wher it is sometimes very noisy.
I tried something with Photoshop in order to focus on him away from this tumultuous flow going around…

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Singing Colours

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“I have always wanted my colours to sing.”
(Paul Delvaux – Belgian painter, 1897–1994)

There is magic along the Ganges on the ghats of Varanasi (Benaras), sometimes those who want to give a touch of poetry will take the stairs as the staves of music paper and will see people as vibrant notes…and the colours will sing…

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The Fisherman with a Net

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“You are the River, All-knowing and All-seeing.
I am just a fish-how can I find Your limit?
Wherever I look, You are there.
Outside of You, I would burst and die.
I do not know of the fisherman, and I do not know of the net.
But when the pain comes, then I call upon You.
You are present everywhere.
I had thought that You were far away.
Whatever I do, I do in Your Presence.
You see all my actions, and yet I deny them.
I have not worked for You, or Your Name.
Whatever You give me, that is what I eat.
There is no other door-unto which door should I go?
Nanak offers this one prayer: this body and soul are totally Yours.
He Himself is near, and He Himself is far away; He Himself is in-between.
He Himself beholds, and He Himself listens.
By His Creative Power, He created the world.
Whatever pleases Him, O Nanak-that Command is acceptable.”
(Shabad by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Siree Raag on Pannaa 25)

This fisherman was cleaning a net at Prabhu ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

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Premchand – “Playground : Rangbhoomi” – Published by Penguin India

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‎”Wrapped in an Orange Veil” is a picture shot from Scindia ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

It was selected to make the cover of “Playground : Rangbhoomi” a novel by Premchand, published by Penguin India and released in 2011.

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First published in 1925, Rangbhoomi was considered by Premchand to be his best work.
Set against the backdrop of colonial India–characterized by a brutal state, opportunistic, feudal landlords and ruthless capitalists this novel is a grim account of the blind beggar Soordas’s struggle against the acquisition of his ancestral land.
Weaving together themes such as industrialization, atrocities committed by princely states, the role of women in India’s independence movement, and caste and class hierarchies, Playground’s concerns remain shockingly relevant.

Capturing Premchand’s masterful handling of a variety of linguistic registers, Manju Jain’s evocative translation shows us the deep humanism of one of India’s greatest writers.

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About the Author:
Considered one of the greatest fiction writers in Hindi, Premchand (1880-1936) was born Dhanpat Rai in Lamahi, a small village near Banaras.
He wrote in Urdu under the name of Nawab Rai and changed his name to Premchand when his collection of short stories, Soz-e-vatan, was seized for sedition in 1908.
In a prolific career spanning three decades, Premchand wrote about a dozen novels, two plays, almost three hundred short stories and several articles, reviews and editorials.
He edited three magazines, and also set up his own printing press.
Though best known for his stories exposing the horrors of poverty and social injustice, he wrote on a variety of themes with equal facility romance, satire, social dramas, nationalist tales, and yarns steeped in folklore.

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The Translator:
Manju Jain retired as Professor from the Department of English, University of Delhi.
She is the author of T.S. Eliot and American Philosophy: The Harvard Years and A Critical Reading of the Selected Poems of T.S. Eliot.
She has also edited the collection Narratives of Indian Cinema.

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“One of the subcontinent’s best-loved writers…the modern father of the modern Urdu/Hindi novel” (The Hindu)

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER INDIAN EDITION Oct Nov 2011

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CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER
INDIAN EDITION
Oct Nov 2011

India Special

“Santifying Ourselves” p.88-89

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Eric Jourdan – “Le Jeune Soldat” – Published by La Musardine

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All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
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“Body language” is a picture shot at Scindia Ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

It was selected to make the cover of “Le Jeune Soldat”, a novel by Eric Jourdan, published by La Musardine and released in November 2011.

Eric Jourdan is a French novelist and playwright born in 1938.

Sometimes his books become source of controversy but they are critically acclaimed and well-received.

“Le Jeune Soldat” is published in French.