Bihar Flood

Budhi Gandak: Stories from a Rising River

Every year, as the Budhi Gandak swells and spreads across Bihar’s plains, the rhythm of life shifts with the river. In Muzaffarpur, which is my hometown, what may seem like a season of disruption is also a season of resilience, where the people adapt, endure, and carry forward their everyday lives with a quiet strength.

Through this series, I set out to document not just the rising waters but the human stories they cradle. Children gather at the banks, their laughter echoing against the backdrop of a setting sun. Families wash, cook, and continue their routines even as the river touches their doorsteps. Under bridges and in makeshift shelters, life rearranges itself, proving that survival can coexist with a sense of community. Alongside the people, NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) teams in their orange uniforms move through the waters, working closely with the community and inspecting the river while looking out for any mishappening. Their presence reflects a concern for the safety of those living by the banks.

The Budhi Gandak becomes more than a river. It becomes a mirror of both fragility and endurance. In its reflections, one sees the innocence of play, the weight of uncertainty, and the extraordinary ability of people to find beauty in the ordinary, even amidst rising floods.

This series is not just about devastation. It is about life flowing forward, about silhouettes against crimson skies, boats drifting past submerged paths, and hands that continue to build, mend, and hold on. Each frame is an attempt to preserve that delicate balance between hardship and hope, between the vastness of water and the intimacy of human spirit.

For me, photographing these moments was a reminder: nature may change the landscape, but it cannot drown the resilience of those who call the riverbanks home.

These images capture the ordinary moments that shape survival during the annual swelling of the Budhi Gandak