I have arrived in Varanasi today to witness the visually rich Dev Diwiali festival. I am leading a photography tour and travelling with a small group of enthusiasts who will be here for the next four days.
Tomorrow evening, there will be a dense collection of lamps glittering on the 2km long ghats of Varanasi. From a distance, it is almost as if stars have descended on earth.
I was at the festival last year too, but a broken right hand that was in the process of recuperating did not allow me to make photographs. My fingers barely had the strength to fold and press the shutter button. Nevertheless, I had carried the camera with the hopes of recording a few images of the celebrations. I was unable to take out the camera or make any photographs in the first few days of my stay. However, on the evening of Dev Diwali, unable resist the temptation of this visual feast, I strapped the camera on, endured the pain and made great effort to click a few images. Here is one of them.
I am looking forward to the festival again tomorrow, this time as an active participant than a viewer with limited mobility.
Today’s photo – ghats of Varanasi glittering in high-power street lights.
Come evening, soon after the Ganga Aarti celebrations in Dasaswamedh Ghat ends, the generally busy ghats become quieter. The steps see no more than an occasional stroller and the river sees a drifting boat or two. Walking back after another day of witnessing the Aarti, this is what I saw.
It is time for me to head to Varanasi again, to witness the festivities of Karthika Poornima / Dev Diwali with a group of photography enthusiasts and subsequently work on a few stories.
I could not have been more excited. In a week’s time, I will be in Yangon exploring its gilded Pagodas and conversing with its longyi-wearing people who always seem to be smiling with their beetle-stained teeth.
A visit to Myanmar is something I have been dreaming for years. I longed to travel into the country when reading Pico Iyer’s cultural experiences in the country, reading the stories of teak-country from Amitav Ghosh or hearing about Eric Newby’s adventure of sailing down the Ayeyarwady.
I always thought of it as a distant dream, but when the country began opening up in the last few years, my antennae were alerted. When the world–more precisely all the travel magazines and travel writings–started focusing heavily on Myanmar in the last year, I knew it was high time. It was the beginning of a transformational period in the country, and I wanted to be there before the country changed much.
I will be off to Myanmar next week, spending three weeks travelling through Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake. I don’t think I have looked forward any journey so longingly in the recent years.
Soon after I return from Myanmar, I am out again to visit another neighbour – Bhutan. Later, in November and December months, my travel calendar is lined up with trips to Varanasi on a photography tour, Darjeeling and its surroundings for a photography assignment, and Rajasthan for another photography tour.
In Varanasi and Rajasthan, I will be leading photography tours for Darter. Do join me on these trips.
