Daniel Mankarious, Morning Class (DOCO 2026)

Varanasi is a city of intensity — layered, alive, and unrelenting. It's a place where life and death exist side by side: from the crematoriums lining the riverbanks to the pilgrims who come to worship, witness, and mourn. Every corner feels steeped in meaning. During my visit, I often felt overwhelmed by the sheer density of emotion and activity. But one morning, well before sunrise, I walked along the quiet banks of the Ganges and hired a local fisherman to take me out on the river. Not long into the ride, I noticed a group of around 40 young men gathered on the steps — students from a nearby yoga school, beginning their morning ritual. There was a calm there I hadn’t yet experienced in the city. I asked the fisherman to drop me off early so I could stay and photograph the scene. For the next hour, I quietly observed their meditation and movement, the soft light breaking across the river as the city slowly came to life behind them. It was a moment of stillness in a place that rarely stops

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