10 months ago
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Posted On: January 3rd 2026, 12:59 pm
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The Spirit of Kashi
2025 wasn’t big on travel for me. Fewer places, fewer checklists ticked. But one place quietly changed how I look at travel itself.
“Why ten days!?” “There’s not much to do there.”
I heard that a lot from people in my circle while planning my solo trip to Varanasi. I didn’t have a solid answer. I’d usually say something practical. More time. Better photos. But a part of me just wanted to slow down and see what happens when I don’t rush a place.
The camera gives me an excuse. Sometimes it forces me. To stay longer. To look harder. To wait. Here, that waiting slowly turned into stories. Conversations. Long gaps of doing nothing. Somewhere something shifted in how I think about travelling and places.
Beyond all the clichés about Varanasi changing you, I don’t know if it “changes” you. But it does make you notice things you usually ignore.
I spent hours on the ghats doing absolutely nothing. Sitting. Watching. Living like the locals for a while. Getting involved in everyday struggles beyond the tourist lens. Standing in long queues for Annapurna Devi prasad without knowing when it would end. Joining the choirs singing Achutam Keshavam during the evening aarti. Getting lost in the lanes on way back to hostel, to slowly getting to know their rhythms and shortcuts.
Away from the crowds and hotspots, there’s another side of the city that felt more real to me. People don’t seem to live in a constant hurry. Food finds you even if you’re not looking for it. Death is visible right in front of you, almost routine. And yet, life exists right next to it. Ordinary, but uninterrupted and free.
I realised travel doesn’t always have to be about covering places. Sometimes it’s about staying long enough for a place to stop being new, so you begin noticing it beyond the surface.
About the photos, these days Varanasi is overly photographed, but I realised how every photograph becomes special when it carries a personal story with it.
Every frame here holds a piece of that time.
Shot on: @sonyalphain + @sigmaphotoindia
#createwithsony #streetphotography #streetphotographyindia
@incredibleindia @natgeoyourshot @streetphotographyindia @121clicks @hipaae
2025 wasn’t big on travel for me. Fewer places, fewer checklists ticked. But one place quietly changed how I look at travel itself.
“Why ten days!?” “There’s not much to do there.”
I heard that a lot from people in my circle while planning my solo trip to Varanasi. I didn’t have a solid answer. I’d usually say something practical. More time. Better photos. But a part of me just wanted to slow down and see what happens when I don’t rush a place.
The camera gives me an excuse. Sometimes it forces me. To stay longer. To look harder. To wait. Here, that waiting slowly turned into stories. Conversations. Long gaps of doing nothing. Somewhere something shifted in how I think about travelling and places.
Beyond all the clichés about Varanasi changing you, I don’t know if it “changes” you. But it does make you notice things you usually ignore.
I spent hours on the ghats doing absolutely nothing. Sitting. Watching. Living like the locals for a while. Getting involved in everyday struggles beyond the tourist lens. Standing in long queues for Annapurna Devi prasad without knowing when it would end. Joining the choirs singing Achutam Keshavam during the evening aarti. Getting lost in the lanes on way back to hostel, to slowly getting to know their rhythms and shortcuts.
Away from the crowds and hotspots, there’s another side of the city that felt more real to me. People don’t seem to live in a constant hurry. Food finds you even if you’re not looking for it. Death is visible right in front of you, almost routine. And yet, life exists right next to it. Ordinary, but uninterrupted and free.
I realised travel doesn’t always have to be about covering places. Sometimes it’s about staying long enough for a place to stop being new, so you begin noticing it beyond the surface.
About the photos, these days Varanasi is overly photographed, but I realised how every photograph becomes special when it carries a personal story with it.
Every frame here holds a piece of that time.
Shot on: @sonyalphain + @sigmaphotoindia
#createwithsony #streetphotography #streetphotographyindia
@incredibleindia @natgeoyourshot @streetphotographyindia @121clicks @hipaae
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