The Great Mother
by josephescu
There’re almost hal a billion Indians residing on the shores of the Ganga (aka the Ganges river, or Great Mother) providing them with an important link to their spirituality. Every day 60.000 people go down to the Varanasi ghats to take a holy dip along the 7km stretch of the river, to wash their clothes, to play in the water, to feed the animals, to die or to cremate their deads in hope of liberation from the cycle of births and deaths.
Can there be a happier Hindu than the one who resides on the banks of the Ganga?
Tooth brush
by l_joo
Varanasian tooth brush is shown here, he is hotel's young owner. Varanasians did not brush their tooth using Colgate or Darlie tooth paste or Oral-B tooth brush. 3000 years of tradition need no such modern commercial products, Varanasians prefer brushing tooth using a stick shown in picture.
Somebody's home?
by l_joo
This picture is perhaps somebody's home, I'm not so sure but I saw so many such scenes in this city. If you want to know what is this, best to ask a local Varanasian. I met a good well educated young man on train, he was a Varanasi born went to New Delhi for study. Told me quite a lot about Varanasi in good fluent English, he loves his country for sure and wanted so eager to ask tourist's opinion about his hometown, so I told him some and we chat for hours, nice man I met.
Varanasi: The Sacred Cows
by Intrepidduck
Everyone may have heard about the India's "sacred cows". The cow is a sacred animal in the Hindu religion. There are alot of misconceptions however concerning these cows. Many people who have never travelled to India have this belief that the sacred cows are just free roaming wild cattle and useless in a malnourished society. Nothing could be more further from the truth. In fact these animals all have an owner, cattle are expensive in India and dairy products are a true luxury. These free roaming cattle are restricted to some areas and they do a good job with eating waste vegetable scraps thrown out in the towns and cities, including the posters on walls which are often put up with the use of a flour and water based glue. Their own waste is hastily collected to be used for cooking fuel and or fertilizer. Unlike cattle in Australia or America these cows and bulls are generally more docile, however do step aside in the narrow lanes and streets when one is comming your way. On occassion one will witness a cow or bull stampeding a crowded street, it can be quite a spectacle. These animal do indeed have a good life - protected by religeous doctrine while also having a useful function in a populous society.
If you are a smoker, then smoke a BIRI
by schlumpf
Walking trough the street of India you will see all the people (i saw only man) smoking such a small sigar, called BIRI. In India there are a lot of tipes of Biri and it is a normality smoke a biri. (it costs also only 5Rs Vs 50/70Rs for a package of cigarettes), they smoke wherever, on trains, buses, restaurants and so on....
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Another look at the Ganges from Shati guest house
Inside New Vishwanath Temple
A Ritual Dip
Manmandir Ghat
