The Ghats of Varanasi and the third i.

What do you do when you carry your SLR and an extra lens to Varanasi, but forget the battery and charger at home?
Besides kicking yourself on your generous posterior, that is.

For starters, you locate a Nikon dealer and try to buy a battery. EL9, in this case. You find your way to the dealer and figure out  he is skinning your over the price. You also find that he does not have a charger.
You curse +/-3 generations of the said dealer and go about attending to your business first.


Then..


You just pray that Steve Jobs knew his job and that the i-phone can capture some of the magic of this pilgrimage.

You repeat the prayer as you attend the Mangali-aarti at 0230 hours and the Rudrashka abhishek that follows at THE Kashi Vishwanath temple. 

Then, you walk down to the nearest Ghat, the Dus-ashwamegh Ghat at about 0510 hrs.

Don't these people ever sleep! The fish market near my house in Vizag was less crowded at peak hours than this joint is at five in the morning!

The day breaks, and you see the mighty Ganges...and the far shore.
Something in you sings.

 The iphone in you hands gets a life of its own, as it captures the portraits of the devout thronging the bank.

There is beauty everywhere. The colors are saturated. But, the battery is running out.

and, you too have not slept the night. Like this old man. You also yawn in sympathy. It is 0730 hrs. Time for breakfast and a nice cup of tea.


You will catch up on your sleep tomorrow.