"I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be 'happy'. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter and to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all."

- Leo C. Rosten

Monday, April 13, 2009

Steps To The Ganges



Among the things that pull me towards Kolkata, one is the ghats. There is a life over there at the break of dawn that makes me feel one with something very beautiful. I do not know what it is. But somewhere inside I feel extremely happy when I see people taking dip in the Ganges, washing clothes, or simply sitting and looking at it. The ghats are not as congested as those at Benaras. But simple and attractive. It feels like I am looking at a culture that has been there not only for hundreds of years, but will be there for ever. Yes. I know it will be there. Mother Ganga will go on pulling us towards it no matter how gigantic a mall comes up. 

12 comments:

Karthik L G said...

I feel a somber mood captured perfectly. Somehow my eyes feel that almost all your pictures Subanjan are highly processed. eg in this picture - I can see that the lighting, highlights of the steps, the water, the blurred motion of the mams legs (can you share the exif data?)

nevertheless that requires talent too and you have it

Subhanjan said...

The lighting, highlights of the steps. the water and the blurred motion of the legs are the same as in the original picture. The only processing is conversion of the image to 'Antique Greyscale', followed by some 'Recovery' and then an over all 'punch' was added to the picture. the effect is a slight yellowish tinge to the picture. That is all that has been done to the picture. I used Adobe Lightroom for this.

Ron said...

A beautiful picture with beautiful writing. I was there a few years ago and although I may be a foreigner, I felt the same way you did. It's truly special!

ChinkyGirLMeL said...

hello. in response to your question about where to copy/paste the html code for your blog. From your DashBoard, click on Layout. Then from layout click on Edit HTML. I suggest you google on how to do the HTML thingys, coz you might end up messing up your blogger layout and I think your blogger layout now is actually not that bad. =)

Subhanjan said...

Since you say that my blog layout is not bad, I will keep it so. And I will better avoid messing up with HTMLs. If anything goes wrong my blog will be messed up.

And Ron I am glad that you have already visited. I am so glad that you felt the same. Mankind should have been one and not divided by boundaries. We have had terrible leaders I must say.

Anonymous said...

As I look at the figures, i feel drawn down towards the water. I live in a climate where it's rarely warm enough to bathe in a river.

Dan said...

Subhanjan,
Very nice photo! I love the activity and motion. I also love the sepia tone of the scene. And of course your words bring it all together in a great package. Well done!

Suvro Chatterjee said...

The ghats of the Ganga are among my perennial favourites. You should try not only Varanasi but Hrishikesh (Triveni Ghat) and Devprayag.

As for whether the 'holiness' of the Ganga is going to preserve her forever from man's depredations, I am not so sure. The Yamuna has already become a thin smelly sewer...
Sir

Subhanjan said...

Dear Mam,

It was romantic of you to feel drawn towards the water. If it is not warm enough over there to bathe in a river, take a plunge once you come over here.


Dear Dan,

I am glad that you liked my picture. You also looked at it from a commercial point. I liked that.


Dear Sir,

I will keep Hrishikesh (Triveni Ghat) and Devprayag in my mind. I do not get the opportunity to travel much. I am yet to visit the most commonest of tourist destinations.

Yamuna is a tragedy today. So is also Ganga to a certain extent. It is the most polluted river in this world. But what I think is that this river is a source of 'faith' for an overwhelming majority of Hindus. It is more of a philosophy that we need to depend on. Somehow I am very optimistic about it and I believe it willnot loose it's significance in centuries to come.

Tanmoy said...

I have always loved the Kolkata Ghats for its activities. However I feel terribly sad when I find the river so polluted. Sadly it is not just about Hindu rituals (which anyway render temples and rivers polluted) but even otherwise we could not keep the holy river as holy as it should have been.

When you are in Delhi, do make a weekend trip to Hardiwar and Hrishikesh. You have to just get out to ISBT and hop on to a bus as there are so many. I am sure you would enjoy it.

Subhanjan said...

I will try my best to do so Tanmoyda. I love to travel and I will not loose any the opportunity of going out for a tour with my black box.

Chanchal said...

Almost perfect there, I should have been happier if that left leg, wouldn't have betrayed!

Anyways, its always something fresh you bring into your clicks..

Cheers
Ban