Banaras or Varanasi is defined by its spirituality. The place feels alive in a way that’s hard to describe, with its maze-like streets, the ever-busy ghats, and the constant hum of prayers, bells, and daily life. Mornings begin with the rising sun painting the Ganges golden, while evenings are a spectacle of flickering diyas and swirling incense at the grand aarti ceremonies. Life here is a curious mix of chaos and calm, as though the city itself is in conversation with the universe.
Photographer Rikrivu Banerjee captures this essence in his stunning photoseries, Benaras - Seeking Faith and Death. Through his lens, Banaras unfolds as a place where life and death coexist without conflict. This isn’t a city that shies away from mortality — but rather embraces it as an inevitable, even sacred, part of existence.
Rikrivu’s images dive straight into the heart of this duality. One shot might show a pilgrim knee-deep in the Ganges, their face a picture of quiet devotion. Another freezes the solemnity of a cremation ceremony, the flames reflecting the belief that death here leads to liberation. The series offers a glimpse into a world where spirituality permeates every action, and the Ganges stands as both a witness and a participant in the cycle of existence.
But it’s not all solemnity. Rikrivu’s series also highlights the vibrant life on the ghats. Children play, sadhus meditate, and locals go about their day with an ease that speaks of a deep connection to their surroundings. The Ganges isn’t just a river here — it’s life itself. It gives, it takes, and it carries the stories of everyone who lives along its banks.
The images in the photoseries show Banaras for what it truly is: a place that doesn’t just celebrate life but also makes peace with death. It’s a city that reminds you that everything, no matter how chaotic or serene, is part of the same cycle. Through his photos, Rikrivu invites us to see the beauty in its contradictions, and to understand that in Banaras, life and death aren’t opposites — they’re just different sides of the same story.
Follow Rikrivu here.
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