Uttar Pradesh: Mathura and Vrindavan

Mathura and Vrindavan are ‘twin’ towns on the Yamuna river approximately 150km south-east of Delhi. The area is considered especially holy by Hindus, due to its association with Krishna, who is said to have been born in Mathura and to have spent his youth in Vrindavan.

From before dawn, Vishram Ghat in Mathura is crowded with ritual bathers. Most of the visitors are women, who come to worship the infant Krishna. Young boys ‘work’ as Krishna offering blessings to the visitors. Around the ghats are many temples, from the tiny ‘sister-brother’ temple dedicated to Yam and Yamuna near Vishram Ghat; to the ‘modern’ Dwarkaheesh Temple on the main street, which dates from the 1800s; and the vast Keshav Dev Temple surrounding Krishna’s birthplace (Shri Krishna Janm Bhoomi), where photographs are not permitted.

Vrindavan is the setting for most of the Krishna stories and thus attracts devotees from all over India. It is known as the ‘city of widows’, reflecting the Hindu tradition for widows to worship the child-god Krishna – many can be seen performing ‘parikrama’ (meaning ‘the path surrounding something’ in Sanskrit); a tour of the religious sites in the area). Like Mathura, it is a popular place for religious bathing, and an evening ‘aarti’ or prayer involving fire is held every day before sunset, before a more dramatic festival is held after dark back at Vishram Ghat in Mathura.

These photographs were taken over Divali on 3-5 November 2010 and before Krishna Janmashtami on 20-21 November 2011.