An Offering to the Ganga

This is a very special photograph of Erin during our time in Varanasi. We were along the banks of the Ganga, the river that is at the heart of the city and one of the most sacred places in Hinduism. Here, Erin is surrounded by children selling small offerings of flowers and candles that we would later place on the river.

Varanasi, also known as Kashi or Banaras, is one of India’s oldest living cities and one of Hinduism’s most important sacred centers. For Hindus, the Ganga is not simply a river. She is revered as the goddess Ganga, and her waters are associated with purification, devotion and the cycle of life and death. For centuries, pilgrims have traveled to Varanasi to pray along its banks, bathe in the river and participate in rituals performed at its many ghats—the great flights of steps descending to the water. 

One of the simplest and most beautiful rituals we encountered involved small lamps called diyas. Flowers and a small oil lamp or candle are arranged on a leaf or other floating container. After the lamp is lit, the offering is gently placed on the Ganga and allowed to float away with the current. The practice can be an expression of prayer, gratitude, remembrance or reverence for the sacred river. During the famous Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, visitors can still see countless small diyas floating on the water as the larger ceremony of lamps, incense, bells and chanting takes place along the riverbank.

What I particularly like about this photograph is that it captures the experience before the ceremony. The children are sitting on the ground with the little flower offerings arranged between them, and Erin is right there among them. We weren’t simply watching a ritual from a distance. We purchased our own flowers and candles and then took them to the river to participate.  Later, we lit our offerings and placed them on the Ganga, watching the tiny points of light drift away on the water. Against the immense age and significance of Varanasi, it was an extraordinarily simple act.

This photograph brings back more than the ceremony itself. It reminds me of how much we learned by participating respectfully in the traditions of the places we visited. In Varanasi, the Ganga was not merely part of the landscape. We saw how completely the river was woven into daily life, faith and ritual and, for a brief moment, we were able to experience a small part of that living tradition ourselves.