Jennifer Prugh: River of Offerings

Photography monograph / memoir for Jennifer Prugh / Mandala Publishing

photographs and text by Jennifer Prugh
map illustration by Thorina Rose

From the introduction:
I’m not a scholar, a historian, or a National Geographic photographer. I’m a practitioner and teacher of yoga from California who went to India to deepen my spiritual understanding. That has happened, but certainly not in the way I imagined. Unlike the few who have walked the river from end to end, my journey over a ten-year period has been to one section of the river at a time. I am also a mother and a yoga studio owner in California’s Silicon Valley, so each trip to India, or to Ganga’s tributaries in Nepal or Tibet, lasted no longer than a month at a time. I do not speak Hindi or Bengali or read Sanskrit. I have relied on a loyal and courageous travel guide, an American-size suitcase, eye contact, extra batteries, the kindness of strangers, and faith to make this possible. What began as a search to deepen my yoga practice became a love affair with this river—and all bodies of water, which deserve the reciprocal care and attention of those who turn to them for solace, sustenance, and redemption, as well as a search for how to live our lives in meaningful ways and to the very best of our abilities.

224 pages
11 x 14 inches