INDogs beside the Ganga and Varuna

These photos were clicked by Kiran in a rural area outside Varanasi, at the place where the Ganga and Varuna rivers meet. 

In his book 'The Indian Dog', Major Soman mentions a group of pariah dogs on the banks of the Ganges who 'live in holes and feed on bodies floating down the river'. I don't know whether these dogs Kiran clicked ever eat the half-burned corpses that are sometimes put in the river. Kiran says he has seen some dogs eating something in the river near the burning ghats. But he doesn't know for sure whether they were eating human corpses. If such a food source is easily available, I would imagine the local free-ranging dogs would definitely exploit it. 


You can see the Ganga and Varuna rivers here










Two dogs sitting in the shade of the thatch fence
A closer look at the dogs in the shade of the thatch fence

Dogs often make sand pits or mud pits and sit in them to keep cool

Sitting in mud


Village dogs are a common sight all around India

Near the entrance to the bridge

Tricolour INDogs are not common in Western India.
One sees more of them in the east and north
.
Quite a normal scene near village and highway stalls: an INDog waiting for handouts,
a curious villager wondering why you are clicking dogs, a goat or two...


Two dogs snooze beside a fishnet

Photos: Kiran Khalap

Ganga-Varuna confluence,
Uttar Pradesh

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