Timeless Sacred Clicks

     





This blog showcases pictures clicked over many years. This time its a complilation of my journey over many years. Its just not another photo walk in Chandani Chowk or CP. Its about my sacred travel and photography which have been very close to my heart. In a way they are my adventure detox pills. Stepping into each of these sacred spaces has always felt like walking through a living history of ancient India with my camera in hand and heart wide open. Every frame became a prayer, every journey a quiet act of soul nourishment and remembrance of India’s timeless footprint. It's always been fascinating to unravel the contours of our civilisation which has drawn Ford, Beetles, Angela  Joli and Richard Gere to find outmore about the mystery behind it all. 



The evening aartis at the ghats get framed in the lens first: fire circling against the dark sky, conch shells, bells and the shimmer of flames reflected on the river. Standing amidst the crowd, the photographer in me chases light and motion, while the pilgrim in me simply stands surrendered to the rhythm of mantra and the river-breeze.


From Radha Kund in Govardhan to the gentle flow of Saryu in Ayodhya, every water body carries stories of devotion and surrender. The camera framed still reflections and soft ripples, yet behind each image lay centuries of kirtan, parikrama and whispered prayers of seekers who have walked these paths before me. Perhaps the purity and magnificence of these places is built from the seeking and surrendered souls who have traveled to these sacred places for centuries.





Jagannath Puri, Orchha’s temples, Kedarnath or the Badrinath temple - all rise like phoenixes from another age. Their grandeur cutting into dramatic skies and golden sunsets. Photographing these shrines is like tracing sacred geometry in stone and shadow; capturing not just architecture but the "rasa" of darshan, bells, incense and quiet waiting in the courtyard lines.


On the waters of Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh, boats crowded with pilgrims became moving mandalas of faith, life jackets glowing orange against the soft sun. Each frame of boat, bird and distant tents held the essence of yatra itself: humanity in motion, crossing from one shore of understanding to another. I too have left a ripple of my prayer in the sacred waters of the Ganges. I dont know, if I polluted the Ganga or it purified me - at least I have the mindful satisfaction of being a part of  the dip.


Through Narmada’s aarti at Gauri Ghat or the serenity of the Golden Temple’s sarovar and every river, shrine and sunset in between, these pilgrimages weave together my love of travel, photography and inner work. 






The journey to temples, monasteries or churches becomes a prayer of seeing, experiencing and being. The  cultural footprints are not just museum relics, but living lights in water, stone, flame of our gurus, priests, monks and sages and the  stillness within which my camera keeps capturing  again and again. Eventually all pilgrimages are from noise to stillness. Somewhere and sometime during my travels, I and my camera found their peace.

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