INDIA PHOTOWALK ADVENTURE: KOLKATA & VARANASI 7 MARCH to 15 MARCH 2026
Words, thoughts, and invite from Neale James, presenter/producer of The Friday Photowalk. Pictures from Shivam Pandey.
Join The Photowalk Show for an unforgettable photography tour through Kolkata and Varanasi, two of India’s most visually rich and culturally vibrant cities. This small-group adventure is designed for photographers of all levels who want more than a sightseeing trip. You want stories. You want depth. And most of all, you want time to create meaningful pictures and learn how to tell better stories about your travels.
Over nine immersive days, you'll photograph Kolkata’s celebrated architecture, bustling street life, hand-pulled rickshaws, document India’s train life and record the quiet beauty of the flower markets at dawn. Then, we head to Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities, to capture sunrise rituals on the Ganges, atmospheric alleyways, industry and the profoundly moving evening aarti ceremonies.
This isn’t a rush from stop to stop. It’s a slow, thoughtful experience, focused on observation and connection. We walk, we talk, we shoot, and we share. With expert photographic guidance, there’s space for learning, critique, and quiet reflection.
Whatever you shoot with, this is your chance to go deeper with your photography, guided by professionals with real travel experience of the country.
We keep our group size small to provide personal attention, work alongside trusted local fixers to open doors that you might otherwise miss, and tailor our itinerary to suit both street and travel photography. At the heart of it all is a deep respect for ethical storytelling and cultural sensitivity.
Reserve your spot today and join a journey that's part creative exploration, part cultural immersion, and part storytelling masterclass.
Capture the world. Connect through pictures. This is The Photowalk Show.
DAY 1 : ARRIVALS
SATURDAY 7TH MARCH 2026
Arrival in Kolkata
Your adventure begins as you arrive in the vibrant city of Kolkata. From the moment you land, you’ll be met by our friendly team, who’ll assist with your transfer to the hotel. Take time to unwind, settle in, and shake off the journey. There’s a rich and colourful nine days ahead.
Welcome Dinner
That evening, we gather for a relaxed welcome dinner hosted by Neale and Shivam. It’s our first chance to connect as a group, sharing stories, laughter, and the first of many memorable meals together. You’ll also have an informal opportunity to chat with our guide team about your photography: what excites you, what you’re hoping to learn, so they can tailor their guidance to support your creative goals throughout the journey.
DAY 2: KOLKATA STREET WALK & METAL MARKET / KUMAATOLI NEIGHBOURHOOD (POTTER’S LANE)
SUNDAY 8TH MARCH 2026
Street Life & Creative Corners
Morning Session: Street Walk & Metal Market
We head out early to explore Kolkata’s old colonial-style streets, bathed in the soft, golden light of morning. These lanes are rich with everyday theatre, chai sellers setting up, street barbers at work, and a rhythm of life that’s quietly captivating. We’ll also visit the fascinating Metal Market, where light filters beautifully through worn windows, and the morning rituals of workers provide moments made for framing.
Evening Session: Kumartuli: The Potter’s Lane
In the late afternoon, we find the soulful neighbourhood of Kumartuli, where clay and devotion come together. This is where artisans sculpt deities by hand, their workspaces alive with colour, texture, and tradition. We’ll wander through the narrow lanes, capturing both the artistry and character of the surrounding Bengali neighbourhood, including nearby paper and textile workshops, each with its own visual story to tell.
DAY 3: WRESTLERS ON THE BANKS OF THE GANGES, KOLEY MARKET & TRAINS
MONDAY 9TH MARCH 2026
Muscle, Motion & Market Life
Morning Session: Wrestling by the River
We begin the day at the banks of the Ganges, where tradition meets raw strength. You'll have the rare chance to photograph pehlwans, traditional Indian wrestlers, training in open-air akharas beneath the iconic silhouette of the Howrah Bridge. This ancient form of kushti wrestling offers a powerful visual narrative: bodies in motion, dust rising, early light carving out texture and form. It’s an experience that’s as much about culture as it is about composition.
Evening Session: Koley Market & Sealdah Station
In the evening, we move into the thick of Kolkata’s everyday pulse. First stop: Koley Market, a riot of colour and movement, where vendors, porters, and traders fill the narrow walkways in a symphony of sights and sounds. From here, we continue to Sealdah—one of India’s busiest railway stations. It’s a masterclass in street photography: crowded platforms, quiet exchanges, trains slipping in and out like clockwork, and brief, beautiful moments of stillness hidden in the noise.
DAY 4: THE FLOWER MARKET & OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER / FAMOUS YELLOW TAXIS
TUESDAY 10TH MARCH 2026
Colours, Bridges & Backseat Stories
Morning Session: Flower Market & Across the River
We begin at first light with a visit to Kolkata’s famous flower market, a riot of colour sprawled along the banks of the Hooghly River. It’s a place where petals fly, trade hums, and morning rituals unfold with quiet intensity. From here, you’ll have a striking view of the Howrah Bridge, its steel frame catching the soft glow of the rising sun, an iconic backdrop for thoughtful, layered compositions. We’ll also explore the opposite bank of the river, offering fresh perspectives and quieter pockets of life beyond the usual path.
Evening Session: Yellow Taxi Ride
In the evening, it’s time to climb into one of Kolkata’s most beloved icons, the vintage yellow Ambassador taxi. For four hours, we’ll weave through the city, stopping en-route, following a curated route that takes us through neighbourhoods rich in character. Photograph life as it happens through the taxi’s worn glass: children playing, street vendors at dusk, shopfronts flickering to life. It’s an intimate, cinematic way to see the city, from the backseat, with your camera as a companion.
DAY 5: FROM KOLKATA TO VARANASI
WEDNESDAY 11TH MARCH 2026
From Kolkata to the Sacred City of Varanasi
Today, we say goodbye to Kolkata and fly east to one of India’s most spiritually resonant cities, Varanasi. The flight takes just over an hour, but it’s a journey that feels far longer in spirit, as we move from the bustling rhythms of Kolkata to the deep, ancient pulse of the Ganges in Varanasi.
Once we arrive in Varanasi, we’ll check in and take some time to settle into this remarkable city, believed to be one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. A place where life and death meet on the steps of the ghats, where devotion flows as steadily as the river itself. The days ahead promise some of the most emotionally rich and visually powerful moments of the journey.
DAY 6: BLUE HOUR AARTI & morning ghat walk / BACK ALLEYS OF VARANASI
THURSDAY 12TH MARCH 2026
Light, Ritual & Life in the Lanes
Morning Session: Blue Hour Aarti & Ghat Walk
We begin in the half-light of dawn, as the city stirs gently awake. The Blue Hour Aarti, held before sunrise on the sacred ghats, is a quiet, powerful ritual of light and devotion. Oil lamps flicker, priests chant, and the Ganges reflects the first blush of morning. It’s a moment of calm reverence that offers extraordinary stillness and photographic beauty.
After the Aarti, we’ll walk the length of the ghats as Varanasi reveals itself, step by step. Pilgrims bathe in the holy river, sadhus sit in meditation, incense curls into the sky, and the early light paints everything gold. It’s a time when the city feels both ancient and intimately alive.
Evening Session: The Back Alleys of Varanasi
In the evening, we leave the river and disappear into the maze behind it. The back alleys of Varanasi are a world of their own—twisting passages where life spills out in slow motion. We’ll photograph the small details that make this city unforgettable: the chai wallahs and wandering cows, faded hand-painted signs, shrines tucked into corners, and the stories written into every cracked wall and weathered doorway. It’s a walk through time, colour, and quiet wonder.
DAY 7: BOAT SUNRISE, WRESTLERS ON TULSI GHAT / THE BRICKFIELDS OF VARANASI
FRIDAY 13TH MARCH 2026
River Light & Rural Grit
Morning Session: Sunrise Boat Ride & Wrestling at Tulsi Ghat
We begin at first light with a boat ride along the Ganges. This is a moving vantage point to witness Varanasi coming to life. The soft, golden light of dawn washes over the ancient ghats as bathers step into the holy river, priests chant prayers, and smoke from incense curls into the morning sky. It’s an unforgettable visual symphony of mist, movement, and centuries-old ritual, seen from the quiet glide of a wooden boat.
After the ride, we return to land at Tulsi Ghat, where the energy shifts. Here, traditional pehelwans train in open-air wrestling pits, akharas that have stood for generations. The combination of sweat, dust, and discipline creates a powerful contrast to the river’s calm, offering raw, physical storytelling through the lens.
Post-Breakfast Session: Brickfields on the Outskirts of Varanasi
Mid-morning, we travel to the edges of the city, where the air turns earthy and the skyline flattens into stacks of freshly made bricks. These brickfields are alive with industry: labourers shaping clay, loading kilns, and carrying bricks in a rhythm that speaks of both resilience and repetition. The palette is subdued, rust red, ochre, sun-bleached white, but the stories here are vivid, and the interplay of light and dust creates some of the most compelling, documentary-rich frames of the journey.
DAY 8: BABAS ON BOATS & GANGA EVENING AARTI
SATURDAY 14TH MARCH 2026
River Mystics & Firelight Farewell
Morning Session: Babas on the Boat & Across the River
This morning, we set out onto the Ganges once again, but this time, with Sadhus as our companions. These wandering ascetics, draped in ochre robes and steeped in silence, bring a quiet intensity to the boat ride. As the boat drifts through still waters in the soft early light, the setting becomes something almost unreal, spiritual, surreal, and deeply photogenic.
Afterwards, we cross to the far bank of the river, a space that feels like another world entirely. Here, away from the energy of the ghats, the landscape opens up into wide sandbanks and quiet stretches of sky. Makeshift tents, distant figures, and moments of deep solitude offer a minimalist canvas for storytelling through stillness.
Evening Session: Ganga Evening Aarti
As night falls, we return to the river’s edge to witness one of Varanasi’s most iconic rituals, the Ganga Aarti. Priests in flowing robes perform this ceremony in perfect synchrony, lifting blazing lamps toward the heavens as chants and bells echo across the water. The flames flicker, the crowd falls into hushed reverence, and the reflections on the river turn golden. It’s a fitting finale to our time here—intimate, powerful, and utterly unforgettable through the lens.
DAY 9: PHOTOGRAPHER’S CHOICE & PHOTO ROUND TABLE
SUNDAY 15TH MARCH 2026
One Last Frame: Return to a Place That Moved You
Our final morning is yours. Whether it’s a ghat where you found stillness in the chaos, a quiet alley that caught your imagination, or a stretch of river where the light fell just right, you’ll have the chance to return to the place that spoke to you most during the journey. With your camera in hand, or maybe just your thoughts, it’s a moment to reconnect, revisit, and make a final image that brings your story full circle.
The afternoon brings us together for a Photo Round Table to reflect, edit, and celebrate. In this relaxed group session, each participant will select and share five of their best or favourite images from the trip. You’ll also be invited to tell the stories behind them, what drew you to the moment, what it means to you now, and anything else you'd like to share.
Whether you’re showcasing a technically strong image, a powerful human connection, or a quiet moment that moved you, this session is about celebrating your unique eye and the journey we’ve all taken together.
Then it’s a chance to relax over a farewell meal, to share final thoughts about the journey we’ve taken together, the moments that took our breath away, the colours that linger in our eyes, and the photographs and sounds that will now do the remembering.
Because India isn’t just a place you visit, it’s a rhythm you carry home. A mosaic of dust, devotion, and daily miracles. It unsettles, it embraces, and somehow, it stays with you long after the plane has touched back down.
MONDAY 16TH MARCH 2026 - JOURNEYS BACK HOME
YOUR EXPLORER GUIDES
NEALE JAMES
The presenter and architect behind The Photowalk Podcast, Neale started his professional career as a broadcaster in the Canary Islands based in Lanzarote at an English and German language radio station, returning to the UK to train and present within BBC regional radio, before joining the national network, Radio 1, to host a wide series of music shows and documentaries, including television. Upon leaving the BBC, Neale continued to present programmes in the commercial radio industry, including co-directing a radio and television training school. In 2004, he switched to a full-time occupation as a social reportage and commercial photographer, initially based in a studio in Berkshire, UK. In 2019, Neale returned to audio, launching his podcasting interests. He joined forces with Fujifilm ambassador Kevin Mullins to co-present The FujiCast. In June 2020, Neale launched Photography Daily/The Photowalk, a programme that celebrates the ‘why’ of photography.
SHIVAM PANDEY
Shivam Pandey is a passionate photographer based in Kolkata, one of India's most beautiful and vibrant cities. India, known for its rich tapestry of colours and cultures, inspires his work endlessly. As a dedicated photo-explorer, Shivam navigates from place to place, immersing himself in local cultures. Despite having no formal training in photography, Shivam has been fortunate to work with some exceptional professionals from India and the West, who have helped shape his skills and vision.
PRICE AND RESERVATION OF INTEREST
What’s included: hotels and accommodation, price of all entries to historic sites, tuition and mentoring, meals, transport including internal flights, train travel, river boats, buses and taxis.
What’s not included: international air travel to and from India*, alcoholic beverages, your visa cost, personal expenses and equipment insurances.
Price of the adventure: £4,950 early bird booking until the end of July 2025, after which the full price reverts to £5,200. The deposit is £1,500.
*Arrival in India is to Kolkata and departure back home is from Varanasi. An open-jaw flight is when you fly into one city and return home from a different one, without backtracking to your starting point.
TO RESERVE YOUR INTEREST
Interested parties will be responded to within 48 hours. If you require further information please call +44 (0)1635 273181.