Dawn on the hindu's holy River Ganges, Varanasi, UP, India

Sunset at the Ganga

Sun sets in the river Ganga, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

The Ganga

The Faith in 'Maa Ganga': Praying in the Ganges River, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

Floating Faith: And the child in her comes through

Faith with color: A diya floats on the river Ganga Varanasi

All in a day for Varanasi: people taking bath on the ghat in Varanasi, incidently there is also a Hindu crematory near by this ghat, all along side one river, The Life, The Prayers and bitter Truth- The Death

Starting the day: A Sadhu gets ready to take bath in the ganga

Flying High

Birds fly as sun is about to rise in Varanasi on the bank of holy river Ganga

Shades of Varanasi

Typical Varanasi house
Ganga 'Ghat' (bank of river)
Temple in saryu ghat

At Saryu ghat

The helicopter

A kid with a helicopter in one of the fare in Varanasi

Varanasi

Many go to Varanasi in search for ‘Kashi’, the luminous abode of the gods, one of the holiest tirthas (literally a "crossing" or sacred place where mortals can cross over to the divine, or the gods and goddesses come to bathe on earth), where many return to die in the hope that they may achieve moksha, the salvation of the soul from the cycle of birth, where it is said that Shiva himself whispers the mantras of salvation into the ears of a dying person.

It is a place that is believed to have been in existence since the time of the Mahabharata, a city where Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath or where Adi Shankaracharya taught Hieun Tsang,the Chinese traveller.

It has an ancient history that Mark Twain once famously described as "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

My hometown- Varanasi

View of Varanasi ghats (Above & Below)