Fire ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #82

Fire and the Boy, The Ganga (Ganges River), Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India copy
Every night
The aarti fire
Five priests
Pay homage
To Shiva’s gifts
While one boy
In their shadow
Shines bright

Fire and the Boy
The Ganga (Ganges River)
Dashashwamedh Ghat
Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh, India

Taken during travels, 2017

Every night at Dashashwamedh Ghat, on the banks of the Ganges river, priests perform the rite of Aarti, a ceremony of fire and gift to Shiva, the patron God of Varanasi. Five men brandish smoke and fire in a kind of ritual dance.

Meanwhile, this young boy converts his daytime shop to a stage, and performs the identical ritual, in identical dress, with identical props, with flawless precision.

Last week we explored Reflections. This week? Let’s light a Fire or find something else to inspire your creativity in this photograph of a young boy performing the Aarti ritual along the Ganga banks beside Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi, India.

The Pic and a Word Challenge is a weekly creativity prompt offered Sunday mornings.

Each week I provide a photograph of mine along with a single word. The challenge? Use the pic and/or word as points of inspiration to create something — a photograph, a painting, prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, longread or just a few words. You are welcome to use these two elements (photograph and word) literally, thematically or metaphorically. If you create both images and words, all the better.

To participate:

  • Use any title you like
  • Your response can be words and/or an image
  • You may use my image in your post, or any image you have created
  • Place the challenge’s Pic (if you use it for inspiration) and Word prominently in your post
  • Mention that you are responding to the Pic and a Word Challenge
  • Add a link to this post in your response

To help us find your response — whether on WordPress, Instagram, Flicker, Tumblr, etc. — you can also:

  • Add a comment on this post to announce your response
  • Apply the tag/hashtag “Pic and a Word Challenge” or “#picandawordchallenge to your post

Each week, I’ll list the previous week’s responses at the end of the new challenge. I may also share some on my social media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.

Last week’s challenge: Reflections

Southern Gate Reflections, Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India copy
Challenge #81 ~ Reflections
The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #81 was Reflection, along with this photograph of cows basking and frolicking on a Ganges River beach in Rishikesh, India.

Five specular Reflections this week. Thanks everyone! =)

View all the Pic and a Word Challenges, including the current challenge, on the Pic and a Word Challenge tag page.