@Go2MattPhillips
Hindus worshipping at the River Ganges in Varanasi. The river is considered sacred and spiritually pure; rituals performed on its banks or in the water are said to bring fortune and wash away impurity
PHOTOGRAPH: ADRIAN POPE/ GETTY IMAGES. TAKEN FROM THE BOOK THE BEST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE
I was about to travel alone for the first time in my life, and – not to sound overly melodramatic – I didn’t think I was going to make it home. India was calling, and on my back was a bag half-full of 300 hypodermic needles. I’d just learned, a couple of weeks earlier, that every twelve hours, like clockwork, I’d need to pull one out and inject myself in the stomach with blood thinner. Despite my overwhelming fear of death, I still knew I needed to go: I was a successful young geologist but wasn’t happy with life, and I hoped this solo adventure would be the kick in the backside my soul needed. I landed in Varanasi, arguably the most overwhelming city in India. It’s a particularly sacred place for Hindus to die (liberating them from the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation), so the city welcomes countless Indian pilgrims who are nearing the end of their days. The sight of corpses is commonplace, and the first of many was carried past me within minutes of arrival. The streets were also heaving with life and poverty, and all the sights, sounds and smells that come along with it. The intensity of the situation was beyond anything that I had ever imagined, let alone experienced. Yet when I reached the western bank of the River Ganges, and looked down over all the funeral pyres to the grass-covered floodplains on the opposite bank, I felt such a sense of peace and calm.