Varanasi Night Wanderings

Night wanderings in Varanasi.

Formerly known as Banaras or Kashi it is one of the most sacred places in India.
Blurred silhouettes, shadows and darkness. An oniric journey through this timeless city.

Varanasi is like a magnet. It attracts us and we do not really know why. Perhaps because of its thousand years of history, where the Sacred meets the common and life meets death. One would come to die here to attain the moksha, thus freeing oneself from the cycle...
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Night wanderings in Varanasi.

Formerly known as Banaras or Kashi it is one of the most sacred places in India.
Blurred silhouettes, shadows and darkness. An oniric journey through this timeless city.

Varanasi is like a magnet. It attracts us and we do not really know why. Perhaps because of its thousand years of history, where the Sacred meets the common and life meets death. One would come to die here to attain the moksha, thus freeing oneself from the cycle of reincarnations.

We photographed our night wanderings, from sunset to first lights of dawn.
The theme of the night has imposed itself as a metaphor of human existence. A deliberately raw work.
The Sacred is everywhere in this city. Each lane is full of temples and deities covered with offerings. Monkeys, revered as the incarnation of the god Hanuman, and sacred cows invade the city. But it is along the Ganges that are practiced purification and funeral rites. Everything returns to the River, inexorably.

"Sri Ram Nam Satya Hai", "The Name of Ram is truth." This sentence is chanted loudly and is
echoing through the maze of alleys that lead to the cremation site. Accompanying the funeral procession, grieving men chant this sentence as a reminder that life is only an illusion.



Full series:

http://archive.bm-photo.ch/gallery/Varanasi-Night-Wanderings-full/G00009RABNz9sPIw
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