These photos are from the same two hour, dawn, boat trip on the Ganges as the previous couple of posts.
I’ll be rescanning a few of these, and perhaps adding a few new photos. Unfortunately some are blurred because of a remove dust-and-gunk-on-the-scanner filter. Also the colours look a bit out in some cases. Nonetheless you still might find some of them interesting!
There are 25 more in this post – they may take awhile to download if you don’t have a broadband Internet connection (click on ‘Read the rest of this entry’)!
According to Wikipedia:
In Hinduism, the river Ganga (feminine) is sacred. It is worshipped by Hindus and personified as a goddess, who holds an important place in the Hindu religion. Hindu belief holds that bathing in the river on certain occasions causes the forgiveness of sins and helps attain salvation. Many people believe that this will come from bathing in Ganga at any time. People travel from distant places to immerse the ashes of their kin in the waters of the Ganga; this immersion also is believed to send the ashes to heaven. Several places sacred to Hindus lie along the banks of the river Ganga, including Haridwar and Kashi. People carry from ganges, sacred water that is sealed in copper pots after making the pilgrimage to Kashi. It is believed that drinking water from the Ganga with one’s last breath will take the soul to heaven.
In most Hindu families, a vial of water from the Ganga is kept in every house. This is done because it is auspicious to have water of the Holy Ganga in the house, and also if someone is dying, that person will be able to drink its water.
Many Hindus believe that the water from the Ganga can cleanse a person’s soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. The ancient scriptures mention that the water of Ganges carries the blessings of the Lord’s feet. Hence mother Ganges is also known as Visnupadi [Emanating from the Lotus feet of Supreme Lord Sri Visnu].
Some of the most important Hindu festivals and religious congregations are celebrated on the banks of the river Ganga such as the Kumbh mela or the Kumbh fair and the chhat puja.
The most important city sacred to Hinduism on the banks of the river Ganga is Varanasi or Banaras. It has hundreds of temples along the banks of the Ganga which often get flooded during the rains. This city, especially along the banks of the Ganga, is an important place of worship for the Hindus as well as a cremation ground.
You can see examples of the copper pots that people use to carry Ganga water in the photos below. Along the river are the many ‘ghats’ that are used for different purposes. Some (dhobi) ghats are used by people to wash their clothes, others are used for ritual bathing. And at others cremations are performed on open bonfires (there is no where holier to be cremated). Early in the morning the ghats are crowded with people performing rituals while facing the rising sun – this is the best time to visit.
[Yes, this needs to be rescanned! They had feet on the print!]
Wheels World 
Louise said
First chance I’ve had to look at these Neil -fantastic. A work to be proud of! But did YOU go in?!