Ganga Aarti

I've had a very interesting day in Varanasi today. I can safely say it's the most unruly, chaotic place I've ever visited. One of the more orderly aspects of life here seems to be the daily Ganga Aarti that takes place on the river bank at Dasaswamedh Ghat. It's a devotional ritual offering to Maa Ganga, Goddess of the holy riner Ganges, carried out by seven Brahmin priests that culminates in small lamps consisting of a candle and flowers being floated down stream. Inevitably it has become a major tourist attraction, but the people near to me definitely seemed to be treating it extremely reverently.