Mitsuhiro TAKEDA

"Rhythm of the Ganges"

Pages: 72 / photos: 65
Size: 208x232x14mm / hardcover
Price: 3,000JPY
Release Date: January 2014

The Ganges rises in a glacier at the southern foot of the Himalayas, runs through the plains of Northern India and flows into the Bay of Bengal.  It is a great river that has its source at an elevation of 4,000 meters and has a total length of 2,500 kilometers.

During the years between 2007 and 2013 I went down this river four times, all the way from its source to the sea.  I was attracted by the people and animals living along the river, by the rhythm of their life.

Locally the River Ganges is called Ganga, the name of a Hindu goddess.  The river itself is thought to be sacred, so there are religious events held everywhere, every day.  However, I photographed hardly any of these events.  Instead I turned my eyes only to their ordinary daily life.

The main course of the river runs into a neighboring country, Bangladesh, in the end, but my attention was thoroughly drawn to the Ganges flowing in India.

There the people and animals, the river and land, the sun and wind all lived their
own life, and yet they all fit in well with one another, so I felt.  If I go there today,
I’m sure I can still find them and the rhythm of their life at the Ganges.

Mitsuhiro Takeda