📷 Flower Offering — Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
Flower Offering
Rishikesh, Uttarakhand · street
Marigolds and rose petals float on the Ganges in leaf boats, each one a prayer set adrift. The river carries them downstream, past temples and ghats, toward the sea.
Every evening at Rishikesh, the Ganga Aarti ceremony fills the riverside with chanting, bells, and fire. Afterwards, devotees set flower offerings on the river — small leaf boats loaded with marigolds, rose petals, and a tiny oil lamp. The current catches them and carries them downstream, a procession of small flames floating between the dark banks.
I shot these offerings from a bridge, looking down at the water. The marigold orange against the dark green Ganges was the colour contrast that made the image. Each boat was different — some carefully arranged, some hastily assembled, some already sinking under the weight of too many flowers. But each one represented a moment of sincerity — someone standing at the water's edge, placing their hope on a leaf, and letting the river take it. Prayer as an act of release.