VARANASI AND THE SACRALITY OF WATER

The emotion that stems from the mysticism of age-old gesture is often not detached from the light of dawn. Even before the sunrise, the Ghats of the “Mother Ganga” start to be alive and the waters are illuminated here and there by the reflections of the funeral pyres that burn corpses. It is a mystic place and at the same time it is one of the world’s most “photographic” places, where also non-believers or non-hindus remain silent to observe the age-old gestures of humans by the water, thinking about anxieties of infinity, supplications to the gods and the conception of reincarnation. A mind’s journey that has already lasted thousands of years for billions of men who have followed on the Ghats, and still continue for billions more in the future. A place like few others in the world

Early morning on the ghats. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoMagic moments at sunrise. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoAsking to Shiva. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoGestures for Millennia. Varanasi, India 1971 - © Carlo SaccoA Degas on Ganges. Varanasi, India 1971 - © Carlo SaccoFeeling Lord Shiva. Varanasi, India 1971 - © Carlo SaccoThe salvation. Varanasi, India 1971 - © Carlo SaccoGhats after sunrise. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoYellow light on the ghats. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoDhobi. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoIntense moments. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoA body before cremation. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoA break to be inspired. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoActs of faith. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoBuildings along the ghats. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoChae shop on the ghats. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoDead body on stream. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoFlooded Shiva. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoFree medical service for lepers and the poor. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoGhats at sunrise. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoOld woman bathing. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoPalaces and temples along the ghats. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoPraying near the water. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo SaccoYellow light near Manikarnika Ghat. Varanasi, India 1991 - © Carlo Sacco
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