The Mothers' Bridge of Love - Opus 6

"What is important is not the specific manner in which God is worshiped but the degree to which the devotee is filled with love."
(From “The Yoga of Spiritual Devotion A Modern Translation of the Narada Bhakti Sutras” by Prem Prakash)

Since a while I see many new couples coming from villages to the ghats of Varanasi (Benaras) in order to get blessings the day after their wedding.
Most of the time they reach early in the morning with their families.
They look tired as they didn’t sleep since two days, they are still wearing party garments and some have been adding an extra layer of heavy make-up providing some kind of artificial features.
Musicians are playing dhols (double-headed drum) and trumpets.
Before worshipping to the holy waters of the Ganges they visit the little mandir (temple) located at Shitla ghat.
On the way the groom’s mothers keep throwing themselves on the ground, they get up and fall again till they reach the Shiva lingam in the temple.
This is the ultimate act of love and devotion in order to win the promises of success, prosperity and happiness for the new couples.
The sons are following with eyes full of tears, they walk slowly tied with a knot between their bride's duppata (scarf) and their scarves which symbolize the bond between them...

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Taken in: India / Uttar Pradesh / Varanasi / Godoliya (show map)

Taken on: May 28, 2013

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Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ200, f/3.5, 1/250 sec, 17.8mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ200
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	17.8mm
ISO:	320
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh
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