The craziest place on earth?

Famine dogs awake to another day of fighting and starvation. Florists sell the last flower ornaments. Thousands of Indians gather on the west bank of the river goddess Ganges/Ganga. Sitting comfortably on a boat, camera in hand, I wait. Everyone is waiting for Surya, the sun god. With its first morning rays, Surya reveals the beauty of Varanasi, the holiest of Indian cities. With the sun lighting their naked bodies, the Indians enter the river.

Every day, at sunrise, thousands of Indians purify their souls and wash away their sins in the river Ganges. It is a river where you can: take a bath; urinate; brush your teeth; drink; throw the dead bodies of children, unmarried men, pregnant women, bulls, monkeys, and the ashes of the married—whose bodies have been previously cremated with wood.

A small human body, which appears to be the corpse of a child, half floats on the river’s surface

It is impossible to describe the roller-coaster ride of your guts. Sitting on my boat, I observe silently. I can hardly raise my camera to take pictures. It is indeed something extremely powerful. The faith and spirituality of each single Indian go hand in hand with the smell of burned human flesh.

A small human body, which appears to be the corpse of a child, half floats on the river’s surface. The back of his head is pushed aside by the paddle of our boat. His torn and ripped-off bandages have freed themselves from the weight that once sank him. What an overwhelming sight. It is surreal, it is holy, it is magical, it is gross, it is disgusting, it is… the craziest place on earth?