Bharath Krishna is an ongoing contributor to the Heartfulness Magazine. His photographic work is featured on the cover of Issue 2. Krishna started his academic career as an Engineering student, but life led him to a Master’s degree in Photography, and a deep love for capturing the whispered moments. See more of his work at: www.bharathkrishna.com


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Bharath Krishna

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The Ganges runs calmly, a lifeline for so many people in so many ways. Though it is early morning, the atmosphere is
 chaotic, activity on every stretch of the riverbank.
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 class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/varanasi_photo2_b7ba41cb39.jpg">
This is the iconic place where Lord Shiva is said to have put his wife Parvathi to rest. Since that time of lore,
 devoted Indians have made the journey to send their loved ones to liberation, to the freedom from the countless
 cycle of birth and rebirth.
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They say the flame from that first fire has been preserved. The funeral flames are still lit from that same source,
 maintained in a small cave from generation to generation. The intense longing for the safe passage to the life
 beyond, and the fulfilment of duty, both hang in the air.
As I walk down the stretch of dozens of ghats – among small groupings of hotels, temples and cottages – every few
 metres something new is happening. Individuals are taking dips in the river for purification. Further down, boats
 float out into the midst of the river. Beyond, children splash in their swimming classes, people send out floating
 diyas for their loved ones, buffaloes bathe and the slopping sounds of clothes being washed compete with
 saffron-robed sadhus murmuring blessings.
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<h4>Read the complete article in <a style="color: #bf8f26;"
 href="//www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/category/volume2/volume2issue3/">Volume 2, Issue 3</a>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">Photo Essay by BHARATH KRISHNA</h4>


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Varanasi - purity in chaos

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 In the South of India is a place steeped in the mythology of one of
 the greatest epic tales known to humanity, the Ramayana. In this tale,
 Lord Ram rescues his chaste and pure wife Sita from the clutches of
 the dark lord Ravana of Lanka, and to do so he and his band of heroes
 build the famous bridge from the Indian mainland through the island of
 Rameswaram to Lanka.


 Legend has it that, after killing Ravana and returning to Rameswaram
 with Sita, he worshipped Lord Shiva, and a temple was built around
 this spot. It is a site of pilgrimage for devotees from around the
 world. The site is also considered sacred because of the confluence of
 the waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.


 In July 2015, BHARATH KRISHNA visited this unique place. He shares
 with us his impressions of the beauty, the devastation and the history
 of the region. Seeing his photos, there is a definite feeling that
 this place has never really recovered from that epic battle.


 <img class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_bridge_img1_a2017024a9.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T05:25:12.416Z" />


 For many years I have wanted to come here, as it is near my parents’
 place. I had seen pictures of the immense bridges from the mainland to
 the island, but coming here is a different experience. I am impressed by
 the power of Nature. It is so windy. The wind on the Indira Gandhi
 Bridge can knock you off if you don’t hold tightly to the handrail.


 <img class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_bridge_img2_4a5162b81d.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T05:29:24.621Z" /> 
 It is also a surreal experience with the calm waters of the Bay of
 Bengal on one side and the turbulent waves of the Indian Ocean on the
 other.


 <img class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_bridge_img3_a390a85119.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T05:30:27.703Z" />Dhanushkodi
 was a thriving trading centre at the southern tip of the
 island until a cyclone in 1964 destroyed the town. At one time the train
 went right to the end of the island, but now Dhanushkodi can only be
 reached by 4-wheel drive, minivan, or by foot.


 I walked all the way to Dhanushkodi, and it was like a dark journey with
 eagles flying around the ruins of old boats and thorny shrubs that are
 dotted across the hard, dry, desolate, sandy ground.


 <img class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_bridge_img4_31c7574a43.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T05:31:37.879Z" />


 <img class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_bridge5_888c3cbeaf.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T05:32:30.257Z" />The
 locals tell stories with tears in their eyes of the devastation of
 the 1964 cyclone. Today there is still no electricity in Dhanushkodi. In
 the evening, the children of the hundred or so families who still live
 there walk the three kilometres back across the island to their village
 at the narrow tip.


 The town itself is also full of ruins – the old police station, the
 houses and the shops that now are only full of old memories. There is
 also the ruin of a church that was built only from shells for this
 predominantly Christian community.


 Still, Nature is beautiful here, and the pristine clear waters of the
 Bay of Bengal are also home to large rock-like sponges that are strewn
 all over the sand. The locals tell that during Lord Ram’s time, these
 ‘stones’ floated after they wrote his name on each one and were thus
 used to create the famous bridge to Lanka.

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<h4 style="text-align: center">Photo essay of BHARATH KRISHNA</h4>
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THE BRIDGE

This is the village of Khuri, near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. It is surrounded by desert and barren land.
 Peacocks and antelopes run wild. As a photographer, what attracts me are the stunning sunsets in the desert.
 In Khuri there are no streetlights, so people rise as soon as the sunlight appears in the sky. From dawn,
 women and children walk about six hundred metres to the nearest well to fetch water for the day.
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 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_art_of_simple_living_img_1_886ed12184.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T13:56:18.020Z">The
 village is known for its safety. People live in a very simple way, with few resources, and they are
 openhearted, welcoming and smiling. I ask some children if I can photograph them, so they take me inside
 their house and introduce me to their grandmother, who offers me a drink and something to eat. Whatever
 little they have, they are so happy to share. Every family has domestic animals – camels, cows, dogs and
 goats. They respect and care for their animals as if they are part of the family, with no sense of
 exploiting them There is only one vegetable that grows in this region, so meals comprise mainly this
 vegetable and chappatis. I am surprised that nobody is looking for money, trying to sell something or take
 me somewhere in order to make money. They just go about their simple lifestyle, happy to help with no
 expectations.
The men work in the camel safaris and rent their camels for heavy transport. The village has a couple of
 small shops offering very basic groceries and stationery.
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 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/the_art_of_simple_living_img_2_8e32f39307.jpg?updated_at=2023-03-30T13:55:44.948Z">

Children go to a nearby government school, so their basic educational needs are met. When they return in the
 evening, they play games on the streets with wooden sticks and stones and also help take the animals for
 grazing and drinking water. Though people from all over the world visit the vicinity, the customs and
 lifestyle of the Khuri villagers seem untouched. For me, this trip to the desert was much more than
 photography; it was an amazing life experience.
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<h5 style="text-align: center;">Article and photography by BHARATH KRISHNA</h5>
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