Varanasi - feeding the poor

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It cannot be denied that India has a huge number of people living on the streets, poor, and hungry. I thought that I would find that the biggest culture shock of the whole visit. We started the day by the edge of the River Ganges watching the ceremony of welcoming the day, then we took a boat trip to see the cremation sites where over 400 bodies daily are cremated. The choice of pictures from any day on this trip is astonishing, and I could agonise for ages as to which to post. But this poor chap receiving his curry and rice at the side of the road at a feeding station for the poor touched me more than any other I took this day. They were sitting in two rows, receiving their food, sitting either side of an open drain - not the most sanitary location for a meal. But they were all grateful for the food.

I think of all the pictures I took, this chaps face is one that I won't forget for ages - the look in his eyes says it all.