Ghumakkar's Diary

Varanasi is world famous for annual celebration of Ram Leela and Krishna Leela. Leela or Lila means an act or dance. Particular chapters of the Leela have got associated with particular places in the city. Like, Bharat-Milap ( when Ram returns to Ayodhya and meets his younger brother Bharat ) of Naati Imli, Ravana-dahan ( burning the effigy of Ravana on the tenth day of Dussehra ) of RamNagar and Nag Nathaiya of Tulsi Ghat. Krishna and Balram at the Leela It’s said that the Leela of Nag-Nathaiya was started way back in 16 th century by Tulsidas. The tradition is still being followed at the Tulsi Ghat and is being organised by Tulsi Das Akhada. Tulsi ghat is almost adjacent to famous Assi Ghat. Nag Nathaiya is celebration of young Krishna’s victory over a gruesome serpent Kaaliya. It is organised on the Chaturthi tithi of Karthik month of Hindu calendar. This is the fourth day from Diwali and falls in the month of November-December. Nag Nathaiya basically means 'controlli...

This Diwali, I was lucky enough to witness the famous Nag Nathaiya festival of Varanasi . Thanks to my best friend’s father, we got VIP passes of the fest and with the help of DSLR and its long zoom lens, could get VIP-Media treatment too. I took a lot of pictures of the festival, and to not to miss a single Best shot – I was on Burst mode. Back home, doing basic processing I got what I love to discover – a pristine Smile ! This smile developed on an old lady’s face, when she was able to reach the feet of Krishna and accomplish a feat! Religiously pure bliss, Blessed!  Look at the anxiety on the Old Lady's face (Behind the marigold flower, left corner) And now the Smile of Being Blessed :) Shot these pictures using Nikon D5000 using 55-300 lens at f/4.8 Exposure 1/100 ISO700 and edited on Picasa for dramatic enhancement of the subject. Keep smiling, Keep posing :)