So here I am on Day #1 of The Gathering Of The Seers – Varanasi Photography Workshop, and I think this image says it all.
No, I’m not in Varanasi yet, this photograph is from a previous trip to Varanasi that I just decided to dig out of my archives. Is it apt? You bet!
For those unfamiliar with hindu religious customs, this is a photo of a religious ceremony in remembrance of the dead. It’s one of the innumerable sights that one is likely to come across along the river ghats.
So why am I posting this, and now? Well, I’m stuck at the airport in Mumbai what with my Air India flight to Varanasi now standing delayed by three frigging hours! The original flight time was 10:30, then pushed to 11:20, then 12:40, and now stands at 1:30. Owing to crew being unavailable before that if you please!
Well, I’m never going to fly AI again ever. But if you ask me, the ailing airline that AI is, I really think it’s gonna join the ranks of the also-ran soon. I think the airline is a gone case – going, going, soon to be gone!
On a lighter note, Peter from Mumbai has reached Varanasi, and messaged me to say that the cab driver at the airport tried to talk him into sampling Banarasi paan, and offered to take him shopping for sarees within minutes of Pete hopping into that-there cab! Ah, Varanasi! How I love thee!
Well that’s it for now, more updates to come. And that image – – apt, don’t you think?