Canon EOS 5D Mark IV | EF50mm f/1.4 USM
India never whispers. It bellows. And nowhere is that more true than the maze-like gullies of Varanasi—one of the oldest living cities on Earth, and a place that punches you square in the senses the second you step foot inside it. Noise, smells, smoke, laughter, devotion, and dung—Varanasi is everything, everywhere, all at once.
I spent a week there five years ago. Long enough to fall under its spell, not long enough to understand it. I wandered the ghats at sunrise, watched the smoke from the cremations curl into the orange sky, drifted along the Ganges in leaky wooden boats chasing different angles of the same sacred scenes. But it was the downtown chaos—the narrow, ancient alleyways—that really got me. That’s where this photo was taken:
Child’s Play & Holy Cows – Street Life in Varanasi by Geraint Rowland Photography
A young boy mid-spin, full of energy and mischief, dances barefoot along the ledge. In front of him, a cow—painted by nature with black and white inkblots—wanders calmly through the mess and magic. In Varanasi, this isn’t strange. This is Tuesday.
Cows are everywhere in India, but in Varanasi they’re more than background—they’re part of the soul. Revered and respected, they move how and where they want. Traffic parts for them. People wait. They own the streets with quiet authority. No leash, no rush, no stress. Just vibes.
This moment—this fleeting blend of childhood and cultural normality—says so much. A woman watches on, unfazed. The scene around her could be centuries old, or shot yesterday. That’s the magic of Varanasi: it’s timeless. Noisy and chaotic, but somehow deeply still underneath it all.
As a street photographer, you chase these moments. And sometimes, if you slow down and let the place breathe, it gives you something honest. Something unrehearsed. A kid playing next to a holy cow in a sunlit alley. Simple. Human. Real. Varanasi, like most of India is fantastic for urban wanderings and street photography, check out an earlier blog I wrote on Indian Street Photography - click here. You can view around one thousand of my India travel images on my Flickr Account - click here. In addition I have thousands of travel images from Varanasi and the rest of India available to license through Getty Images - click here to view. Click here to read a nice article by Explorer Simon Reeve who calls Varanasi one of the most memorable places he has ever visited. Here’s a slideshow with some more of my Cow related images taken in Varanasi, plus a Water Buffalo with a bird on his head because why not?
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