Unreal twilight

1889 - BRAHMAGIRI, TRIMBAKESHWAR, SOURCE OF THE GODAVARI / GANGA

He was nineteen years old.

He was lying on his back on a hill, looking up at the sky.

His camera stood on the tripod to one side.

Suddenly, mist began to creep towards the field.

A cloud of mist enveloped him and hid him from view.

All he could see was white mist.

White blindness, as if he was buried in a cloudbank of mist.

Then a snake slithered through the mist, crawled over his chest and stood above his face with fanned hood.

Rubbing itself against his chest, the snake began to slough off the skin covering its eyes.

Understanding, Govind picked up a cloth on which his head was resting and wiped the snake’s eyes clean.

Having regained its sight, the snake went quietly away.

When the mist cleared, the surrounding hills had turned into the white, snow-covered Himalayan Mountains.

The infinite sun peeped out from behind the infinite mountains.

On all sides the multicolored tree barks of autumn…

Govind was exhilarated by this vision.

This was the source of the Godavari…

He captured many beautiful visions in his camera, finally understanding why they painted the Sahyadri Mountains white in the backdrops at Nasik.