Ready ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #375

At rest
Between the fires

The morning long past
The evening to come

These form flotillas
Of tourists and pilgrims

To view the Ganga Aarti
Twice daily

Ready and Waiting
Rowboats and Tour Boats
The Ganga (Ganges River)
Kashi (Old Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh, India

Taken during travels, 2017

Pic and a Word Challenge

The Aarti is a Hindu ceremony performed twice daily, dusk and dawn, at several Ghats (temples) along the Ganga (Ganges) river. Several priests perform the fire rite, facing the river on raised platforms. Though many view from areas on the shore, the majority of the audience floats placidly on the river in these boats. It is an extraordinary event.

While I have several posts about the Aarti ceremonies I attended in both Rishikesh and Varanasi, Kevin Standage describes and photographs the evening ceremony performed at Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi very well on his blog.

Last week we found the Magic.

This week, let’s get Ready to party. Or seek something else to inspire you in this photograph of boats tied up on the Ganga banks in wait for the evening Aarti ceremony, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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

With each challenge I provide a photograph of mine along with a single word. The challenge? Use the pic and/or word as inspiration to create something — a photograph, a painting, podcast, video, 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 images
You may use my image to illustrate your post, or any images you have created
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.

The previous challenge was: Magic

Skipping throug the Wonder, The Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India — Skipping through the Wonder, The Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

The word for last week’s Pic and a Word Challenge #374 was Magic, along with this photograph of a young girl (who may or may not be) skipping along the base of a minaret in the Taj Mahal, at Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Four bloggers found the Magic this week. Two regulars and a couple of returnees. 🙂 Thanks everyone (and welcome back!)