Varanasi: the beginning of the end

Located on the bank of the river Ganges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is the Hindu holiest city. The devout believe that dying in this sacred place will circumvent the cycle of reincarnation and ensure a permanent access to Heaven.

Before dawn, pilgrims come to the Ganges for their ablutions and offers to the rising sun. The open-air crematorium relentlessly consumes human remains. Walking along the bank becomes then a spiritual and surreal experience.

Another day has just begun: past, present, eternity, continuity, life and death coexist again in Varanasi.