I have often wondered why people find it serene near the water bodies. Often I read people articulating about the peace one gets while near a river or an ocean. As I grew up in Chandigarh, all my school holidays were spent in Dehradoon with my Grand Father, who happened to be posted there. And year on year, we visited Mussorie, Haridwar and Rishikesh. I recall, Ganges always held me captivated with its enigmatic majesty, be it a boat ride in Haridwar or the Lakshman Jhoola in Rishikesh. It was always trips full of zest, fun and frolic. As my grandfather retired and later concluded his mortal journey, these trips only remained with me as memories and although I traveled to Banaras, Allahabad and Dehradoon several times, it was always for work and I never happened to visit the river front. However, on a recent photo trip to Banaras, I took a boat ride, saw the morning / evening Ganga Aarti and a subsequent visit to Pashupatinath temple where I witnessed the Bagmati Aarti, my fascination for these rituals immensely increased from a photojournalism perspective. The sadhus clad in bright coloured clothes, the mesmerizing river fronts, the fiery lamps and the flower showers were a delight to watch, while a walk along the ghats or a boat ride in the river seemed to invoke emotions that I never knew I was capable of feeling. While many find peace in the rituals, my take away from the visits to these places has always been serenity I discovered, something that always calms me down, brings me to face my inner self and introspect. Notwithstanding the opportunity for photography, I have always wondered and thought about why almost all civilizations evolved around river banks and understood why people attributed the stature of a mother and a goddess to River Ganges, the lifeline of India.