Varanasi/Benares
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Varanasi, also known as Benares,[3] Banaras is a city on the banks of the Ganges in the Uttar Pradesh state of North India. A major religious hub in India, it is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism.
Varanasi is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. The city has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 kilometres to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and 320 kilometres (200 mi) to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It lies 121 kilometres downstream of Prayagraj, where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site.
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Lion capital of Ashoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the fifth century BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Tulsidas wrote his Awadhi language epic, the Ramcharitmanas, a Bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana, in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. In the 16th century, Rajput nobles in the service of the Mughal emperor Akbar, sponsored work on Hindu temples in the city in an empire-wide architectural style. In 1740, Benares Estate, a zamindari estate, was established in the vicinity of the city in the Mughal Empire's semi-autonomous province of Awadh. Under the Treaty of Faizabad, the East India Company acquired Benares city in 1775. The city became a part of the Benares Division of British India's Ceded and Conquered Provinces in 1805, the North-Western Provinces in 1836, United Provinces in 1902, and of the Republic of India's state of Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
Silk weaving, carpets, crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population, as do the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats—steps leading down the steep river bank to the water—where pilgrims perform rituals. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead. The Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi are kept here. Among the notable temples in Varanasi are the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, and the Durga Temple.
The city has long been an educational and musical centre: many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in the city, and it was the place where the Benares gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed. In the 20th-century, the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and the shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city. India's oldest Sanskrit college, the Benares Sanskrit College, was founded by Jonathan Duncan, the resident of the East India Company in 1791. Later, education in Benares was greatly influenced by the rise of Indian nationalism in the late 19th-century. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College in 1898. In 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded the Banaras Hindu University, India's first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was established in 1921, a response to Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement.
Varanasi, also called Benares, Banaras, or Kashi, city, southeastern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the left bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River and is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism.
Shot taken on an early morning boat ride on the Ganges in Varanasi, India.A sublime experience.
Varanasi, Banaras or Kashi is a city on the Ganges river in the north-Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.It is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities.
Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2500 years ago.Recent excavations at Aktha and Ramnagar. two sites in the vicinity of the city, unearthed artifacts dating back to 1800 BCE. The Lion Capital of Emperor Asoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the 5th century BCE. The celebrated Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang visited the city around 635 CE.
Traditional Etymology links Varanasi to the names of the two Ganges tributaries forming the borders of the old city - The Varuna and the Assi.The latter is now barely a stream.
Varanasi is one of the holiest cities of Hinduism. It has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death and mourning in the Hindu world.In the 8th century AD, the Hindu saint Adi Sankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi.The Kashi Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is one of the most revered temples of Hinduism.
Varanasi is the birthplace or is in some way associated with some of the most prominent Indians from the world of Philosophy, Religion, Literature and music.The Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan and the Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar were both born here.
The city is also a center of silkweaving, carpet weaving,metal handicrafts and other crafts.It is famous for the Banarasi Sarees ,silk sarees with exquisite gold and silver weaving,which are often worn at Indian weddings and other special occassions.
Varanasi (Inde) - En principe sur les réseaux sociaux, Flickr ne déroge pas à la règle, un plan large a toujours moins de succès qu’un plan serré. Un plan serré est lisible immédiatement la plupart du temps. Un cadre comme celui de la photo ci-dessus, nécessite qu’on s’y attarde. Comme les gens n’ont plus de temps ou n’ont plus l’habitude de le prendre, devant la profusion d’images qu’ils consomment quotidiennement. Pourtant, je pense qu’un plan large est plus difficile à réussir en raison d’un nombre plus importants d’éléments à mettre en harmonie dans son viseur.
Ici, j’ai utilisé une téléobjectif. Comme j’étais dans une barque, il était impossible de recourir au grand-angle pour garder un minimum de lisibilité pour cette scène matinale sur l’un des gaths de Varanasi. La colorimétrie relativement chaude est due à l’heure matinale. Il est à peine 5 h (les données exif sont restées à l’heure de Paris). Le soleil darde ses premiers rayons et la journée s’annonce caniculaire.
Varanasi wakes up
Varanasi (India) - In principle on social networks, Flickr is no exception to the rule, a wide shot is always less appreciated than a tight shot. A close-up is immediately readable most of the time. A frame like the one in the photo above requires that we linger over it. And people no longer have time in front of the profusion of images that they consume daily. However, I think that a wide shot is more difficult to achieve because of a greater number of elements to bring into harmony in the viewfinder.
I used a telephoto lens to obtain this frame. As I was in a boat, it was impossible to use the wide angle to keep a minimum of readability for this morning scene on one of the gaths of Varanasi. The relatively warm colorimetry is due to the early hour. It is barely 5 a.m. (the exif data remained in Paris time). The sun shines its first rays and the day promises to be hot.
The Ghats in Varanasi are world-renowned embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. The ghats are an integral complement to the Hindu concept of divinity represented in physical, metaphysical, and supernatural elements. Varanasi has at least 84 ghats, most of which are used for bathing by pilgrims and spiritually significant Hindu puja ceremony, while a few are used exclusively as Hindu cremation sites. Steps in the ghats lead to the banks of Ganges, including the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, where Hindus cremate their dead. Many ghats are associated with Hindu legends and several are now privately owned.
Many of the ghats were constructed under the patronage of the Marathas like Scindias, Holkars, Bhonsles, and Peshwas. Most are bathing ghats, while others are used as cremation sites. A morning boat ride on the Ganges across the ghats is a popular tourist attraction. The extensive stretches of ghats in Varanasi enhance the riverfront with a multitude of shrines, temples, and palaces built "tier on the tier above the water's edge".