Bathers / Kopalci, 2013
The river Ganges is essential to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on its waters for their daily needs. It is also a sacred river to the Hindus. They believe the waters of the Ganges hold a purifying power - they are not only capable of removing the physical dirt, but also the symbolic dirt. It is their common belief that bathing in the river washes away the sins of a lifetime.
Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in India, and hundreds of Hindus come to bathe every day. Every Hindu should come at least once in their lifetime to bathe in the river at the Ghats – the stairs leading to the river - that spread along the river banks.
During the months of May and June, just before the rainy season, a wave of heat moves through North India. In certain parts, the temperature rises up to 50 degrees Celsius. It is the hottest time in this part of the world and the temperature is difficult to endure even for the locals.
In this period of time the Ghats start to play a different role. This is where the people of Varanasi and the nearby cities come to bathe and chill in the soothing waters of the sacred river every day. The Ghats become the beach and the holy river Ganges a cool sea.
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Reka Ganges je bistvenega pomena za milijone Indijcev, ki živijo ob njenem toku in so za svoje vsakodnevne potrebe odvisni od njenih voda. Hindujcem je to tudi sveta reka. Verjamejo, da imajo vode Gangesa očiščevalno moč - ne samo da odstranijo fizično nečistočo, temveč tudi simbolično. Velja namreč prepričanje, da kopanje v reki izpere grehe življenja.
Varanasi je eno najsvetejših mest v Indiji, kjer se vsak dan v reki kopa na stotine hindujcev. Vsak pripadnik hindujske vere naj bi se vsaj enkrat v življenju okopal v reki Ganges, do katere vstopa preko Ghatov - stopnic, ki vodijo v reko - in se širijo ob rečnih bregovih.
V maju in juniju, torej tik pred monsunskim dežjem, se preko severne Indije premika vročinski val. V določenih predelih se temperatura dvigne do 50 stopinj celzija. To je najbolj vroč čas na tem delu sveta in vročino težko vzdržijo tudi domačini.
V tem obdobju se vloga Ghatov spremeni. Prebivalci Varanasija in bližnjih mest se na njih zbirajo, kopajo in hladijo v prijetnih vodah svete reke. Ghati postanejo plaža in sveta reka Ganges hladno morje.