the eternal beauty of 'subah-e-banaras'.................

Benaras is famous for it's sunrise by the Ganges .

There is a perfect horizon , bordered with water .

flowing water .

The ancient ghats in the opposite side of the sunrise is a perfect backdrop .....the earthy colors of the ghats complement very well with the water , the sun and everything that follows a sunrise........a golden sheen covering everything in sight .....a perfect way to welcome a new day in your life.......

The waters turn to molten gold and it's just ethereal........

 The ghats are ancient , and most of the buildings are ancient too.......some of them are painted brightly and that looks surprisingly good with the rustic sandstone ghats..............

You get to see how so many different kind of people start their day , the pandas ( the brahmins who facilitate prayers for you in almost all the holy places in our country ) arranging their chhatri ...........

This panda we saw brought the chhatri ( Umbrella like canopy ) from somewhere else and fixed it on the axis .....then we saw he brought another chhatri and fixed that one too..........

On the wooden platform where he sits and waits for the people to come after taking the holy dip in the Ganges ....... his chowki ( the wooden platform ) is complete with all the necessary paraphernalia for a puja .....chandan , pani  , aachmani and the mouli ( holy red thread ) he ties on your hands indicating it's time to pay.......

He calls one and all and lures everybody  to do the prayers with him.........at lower dakshina ( fees for the prayers )........ you have to buy your blessings and the panda will help you out ........a facilitator ............

Okay .... you see other things too.......foreign tourists going for boat ride .......

Somebody sleeping like this is the best place to a good night's sleep.......

People brushing their teeth with neem datun , taking a dip in the ganges and then a small prayer , sometimes a loud rhythmic enchanting of mantras.......not everybody has to buy those blessings , you can always have your own way with God ..........

The air feels resonant with humming chants , ringing bells and flowing water and suddenly the quack quack of these ducks ......

You turn and they seem to be asking you something.........food....do you have some ????

These ducks can be seen on Dr. Rajenda Prasad ghaat and they are very friendly........we didn't have any food for them so we had to move away ......to the boatman.....it's time to drift into the waters........

Once you are in the boat you can see the beauty of the ghaats ..........unperturbed by the pandas and the people trying to rub off all the sins into the Ganges and to start afresh for newer sins.........you just see the ascending peaks of mandirs and the waving flags ....... peaceful and serene........

I like the randomly floating boats and always end up clicking the pictures just for the boats.......kids do their swimming practice and you can spot as young as 3 year kids ..........

These chhatris on the ghats are a symbol of banaras ............

Some royal families built palaces by the banks..........now being refurbished as luxory hotels , as we were told by the boat man .........

Sunrise is wonderful............the sun peeps through the clouds ...........

And then comes out in the open..............

The oars keep moving as the waters change color every minute.............

The boat man wants to click our pic.......and in a couple of trials he succeeds ....

This was a boat ride after 12 long years..........we used to go for boating very often during our courtship days ...........it was great to be there again............our perspectives change and we see the world differently .... and it was definitely different this time.......

Happier.