Varanasi Ganges Editorial Image

Varanasi is built along the west bank of the Ganges and the Ghats are central to life in India. As part of their religion Hindus wash regularly – the Indian version of cleanliness is next to godliness. While the kids splash more water out of the Ganges than the monsoon puts in, a solitary man prays towards the sun, chanting Hindu prayers and scooping water up in his cupped hands, repeating the slow movement five or six times before he slowly turns round, holding his hands together in prayer and immersing himself fully, all the while continuing his prayers, barely audible in their monotonic whisper. This is a sacred place for all hindus where people will come to the ganges and burn the bodies of their dead on the steps of the temple