Every year I’ve lived in Maharashtra, I’ve loved seeing how enthusiatically involved people here get during the Ganesh Festival. I am sure things won’t be the same this year, I hope things won’t be same this year, but I am also sure the air will still be filled with the same energy. And speaking of energies, I wrote this blogpost a while ago but never got around to actually posting it, so here it goes:

I believe in energies. I believe in energies from a person and from a space. remember that Newton’s law of energies? Energy is never created or destroyed in the universe. It can only be transferred. yeah. I think that’s pretty damn true. Why am I talking about energies? Well, because I wanted to share some images I captured on the day of Ganesh Visarjan, here in Pune. 

I went to the center of the city on the day of visarjan, where EVERY Dhol-Tasha Pathak passes through followed by their Ganpati. If you are unaware of what Dh0l-Tasha is, you can check it out here, because you’re really missing out on something brilliant. And the energy you feel being the center of this colorful and loud storm, is pure magic. It is the calmness, the strength, and the stability you feel that only comes from faith. From faith people have in Ganpati. I don’t always agree with what this festival has become, but I genuinely didn’t think of anything else when I was there except for just a pure and clean and one of the most positive energies I’ve ever felt. 

I shot these a month after the doctors removed 15 screws and 2 plates from my leg. I was determined not to miss this. But to be honest, my leg wasn’t the most stable and, in hindsight, it probably wasn’t too smart of me to be where I was taking these shots. A lot of things COULD have gone wrong. But you know what? Even though everyone around me was as caught up in this chaotic bliss as I was, they took care of me. Men holding on to the ropes to keep the general public out, let me in the area so I could shoot, and stood behind me so I wouldn’t get pushed around. I was so pleasantly surprised at this gesture. And maybe, it’s just something that comes with this festival, looking out for each other.