in contrast to the still, majestic beauty of the mountains, there is an underlying sense of mystery that characterizes the beauty of rivers. the water that is stored inside the cradle of the mountains, waits for the opportune moment to transform into the river. may be because of that, from the very beginning, a sense of mystery is at the heart of any river. the river never shows her entire self to the onlooker. all we see is the flow on the surface, but not what lies beneath it - the world of innumerable subterranean currents that continues to flow along, just beneath the surface, silently shaping the very core of the river. in a way, thus the river acts as the perfect metaphor to our own lives, which are also being continuously shaped by the currents of a multitude of emotions and feelings that ebb and flow just beneath our social selves. like life itself, the river also has a range of different rhythms that accentuate its flow.

at the beginning, when the river emerges out of the mountain's cradles, she is alive with life and it is that throbbing, vibrant self that she carries with her till she leaves the mountains and reaches the plains. after passing through the tumultuous phase in the mountains where she flows past giant rocks, steep slopes and other dramatic landscapes, the river gradually becomes calmer and quieter. after crossing the mountains, the flow, still strong, seems to settle into a pace of her own. as the pace settles, the river passes through dense forests, with the forest foliage creating chiaroscuros of lights and shadows on the riverbed. slowly, as the river progresses further along the plains, human habitats start to grow alongside the river. villages, towns, cities grow around the river and eventually a bridge between human civilization and nature evolves. with that, a unique world emerges around the river. even further down, the river starts to lose her force. her flow gets covered with slit and on the surface, she looks a tired self, a self that does not have any resemblance with her vivacious beginning. yet, beneath the surface, the core of her heart remains crystal clear. finally, one day, her journey ends. the river reaches the estuary and finally surrenders herself into the immense cradle of the ocean.

the images in this section are about this journey not geographically, but in terms of the metaphors of life that they create.

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by bhaskar