Beloved city of our guide – who had been recounting its perfection and spiritual nature for weeks – I had something very different in mind than what I initially encountered: just another very noisy, commerce-obsessed, unbelievably crowded Indian city. It is only on the banks of the Ganges where things get interesting.

Those banks are studded with countless ghats where extravagant Hindu ceremonies take place; its streets full of sadhu – religious mendicants, who didn’t want their photos snapped. I was also requested not to photograph the burning pyres of corpses, and I didn’t; it turns out I don’t need to photograph things I’ll never forget.

Here are some photos I did take. Hope you enjoy them.

P.S. Last night’s overnight train was not grim like the first one; it certainly wasn’t pleasant, but it was tolerable, until the engine broke and we sat still for three extra hours.