This Oasis Holds Treasures Beyond Water
Januray 25, 2023 // Travel Stories
India: In this new series, sadhus and religious students are the featured subjects.
As this blog progresses, you will see the holy lands of Varanasi slowly unravel. This city is the epicenter of Hindu faith.
The first day of the shoot begins with my newly befriended local guide, Rishi.
When Rishi got to know my intentions for this photo project, he got eager to help. He politely insisted on carrying my camera bag, paying for our food, and transporting me to all the hidden corners Varanasi had to offer.
-"I go get my motorcycle! Please, let me drive you to the Ganges river, na?"
Every time I tried to refuse his generosity, his huge smile faded to a pleading frown. So with Rishi`s help and connections— we set out to capture Indian spirituality.
We arrived at the holy river Ganges, where the Hindus do their morning prayers. Divine and prominently, the Ganges flows from the heavens. The Ganges is primarily composed of Himalayan meltwater, which falls from the heavens as snow.
One of the sacred aspects of the Ganges is that Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges reduces a person’s sins and increases the chances for liberating the person from the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
The sun settles and a swole sadhu enters the scene.
A sadhu is a wandering monk who has renounced all earthly possessions, dedicating their life to the pursuit of spiritual liberation.
Their reality is dictated only by the mind, not material objects.
Even death is not a fearsome concept, but a passing from the world of illusion.
To sadhus, dreadlocks are a sign of renunciation and a life dedicated to spirituality.
When the tide is low, this oasis holds treasures beyond water.
The holy temple Ratneshwar Mahadev is in the process of being completely submerged. Currently, it`s only accessible when the water is low, before long the whole temple will be below the surface.
Every portrait is created with natural light molded by a reflector. No flashes.
But inside the sinking temple, some artistic liberties were taken into account.
We used a firehose to soften the ground's texture and make every sand grain wet— to reflect shiny soil.
To achieve realism while photographing their lifestyle, the sadhus presented themselves the way they wanted to be seen.
This maintained the visual flow of enhanced cohesion.
Another part of renouncing your former life is to attend your own funeral, die to yourself, and be reborn into your new life as a sadhu.
There is a large focus on Aghori, an intense sect of Sadhu infamous for overcoming all things taboo.
They may meditate on corpses, eat human flesh as part of a sacred ritual, or keep a skull as a reminder of the impermanence of life.
The Aghori have a profound connection with the dead.
After prayer, some religious students shave their heads, so a hair sacrifice can strengthen said prayer.
As we created this collection of portraits, I questioned myself many times. Most of the time we were surrounded by the most beautiful people, and not having the time to capture everyone felt like a missed opportunity.
But then we would be focusing on portraying the few in more subtle details, and that selective tunnel vision allowed us to experience more.
On the brink of reincarnation, Varanasi became a hazy, dream-like place, and "epiphany" became little more than a familiar word.
After witnessing the poignant reminder of the passing of time, my tranquility needs to be refurbished.
Knowing these people has truly been a life-changing experience. When a rare outside viewpoint gives context to your own life, you can’t help but feel the mold within you bend and twist into something new.
Assimilation: Youth is wasted on the young— when you are in a state of being miserable, you can't appreciate the fleeting sweet melancholy it offers.
You don't appreciate how time seems to slow down for you or how you are driven to introspection with a newfound wisdom of who you really are. You just want the misery to end, and you miss all the signs of the precious bittersweet nugget of love you are left with.
I`m slowly building the collection into a unified volume of work that showcases nomads from around the world. I'm grateful to have Rishi by my side in this first chapter.
Thank you and namaste.