India Insight

You may be ready with the camera equipment and travel gear, but what if the first sight of your destination doesn’t appeal to you? That happened to me when I reached Haridwar. The dirt and grime appalled me, and I wasn’t up for an “exotic India” photo op. Worse, the manager of an ashram refused to provide accommodation because I was a single male. The other lodging house guy I spoke to over the phone was equally reluctant and for the same reason.

Walking past the innumerable beggars and the drying Ganga river, I found a spot where a man was resting under a tree.

Disgruntled, I hopped into the next autorickshaw and reached Rishikesh, about 20 kilometres from Haridwar. The view cheered me up.

This little girl below either was studying or writing something while selling flowers by the river. She gave me a curious look.

In India, people often ask photographers to pay for getting clicked. Don’t worry, these people modelled for free.

These flowers dotted the river ghat, or bank. I later realised that along with the flowers, I captured a boy in mid-scratch.

Deserted spots fascinate me, like this one…

… but people also add life to a picture, like this one in which devotees are on their way to the other side of the river.

I caught a foreign national-turned priest while he was hooked to his iPhone.

At night, a show organised by an ashram lit up this part of Rishikesh where people tuck in early.

Next morning, I woke up late, but captured the fading moon above this huge bridge called the Raam Jhoola.

This is a picture of an IITian (from the Indian Institutes of Technology) who was immersed in Lord Krishna payers – Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Rama Rama, Hare Hare…

And finally, I will leave you with this image of a man praying by the river Ganga.