“I burnt the broken moon,

  And I sold all my dreams

  Oh! Noir, hold my hand please!

  Take me where I lost my candles…..”

-The Soul, always an unknown Saint-

I could see a small human figure emerging out of the darkness. The steps of the ghat were barely visible in the thick fog.

It was like a magical figure appearing suddenly in front of you and you ask for a blessing! No, It was not so as I thought. Then I heard the faint plea, “Sir! Can I take you on a boat ride?” I did not feel like going for this adventure. The fog almost engulfed the dimly lit ghat. I looked at my watch and it was almost nine in the evening. 

“Won’t you like to explore Varanasi Ghats in darkness? It’s beautiful! You will enjoy, Sir!” Now I could see him. A young boy was eagerly looking at me for the “Yes”. I gave in.

On that winter night, I sailed in to the darkness. I do not remember the exact date neither I remember whether it was a full moon night or not. But I could clearly hear the whispers of the steps of the Ghats, the people engaged in their daily chores or a sadhu praying at a corner of a ghat.

It was not a journey for one evening on a boat in Varanasi. In fact I later realized that it was the start. Like a ritual I continued the evening boat rides for years to come whenever I was in Varanasi. Every evening opened up new perspectives, not only the architectural beauty with its glitters but the noir sucked me in more to discover the most ancients parts of a holy city always with a tale to tell.

About Abhijit Bose

Abhijit started his journey in photography in 1978 with ISOLY-II, a point and shoot camera.  He is well traveled in Europe, Africa and Asia. He received the Excellence FIAP Honors from Federation de l’Art Photographique, world’s highest body in Photography. He also holds the Crown 2 Honors from Global Photographic Union, Greece. His works are awarded in prestigious international competitions. More than 500 of his works are widely accepted in more than 50 countries. He also published his works in Dodho, NatGeo and The Statesman Tabloid, London to name a few. Abhijit received many awards in international professional competitions. He was thrice finalist in HIPA, UAE, and also a Silver Medal winner in Moscow International Foto Awards, 2017. His works were also awarded in most prestigious professional competitions like IPA 2017 and Paris Photo Prize (PX3) (2017). He is a Chemical Engineer and an alumnus of IIM-Kolkata. He is based in Mumbai.