Karni Mata, Deshnoke

During my recent visit to India I travelled to the town of Deshnoke in order to spend some time at a temple I had heard about. Dating from around 1530, the Karni Mata temple is home to many thousands of rats, which are a very visceral representation of many ideas I would like to work with in my imagery. I am working on a major project using my time in India, and the work I hoped to make here would play an important role in the narrative.

Despite the incredibly unique draw, this temple has not seen much photographic attention from what I can find in my research, although it has featured as more of a curiosity in National Geographic and other documentaries. I couldn’t find any photo-essays specifically but if anyone knows of one I’d appreciate them sharing it with me!

I think there is a lack of striking imagery, most of what I have seen are snapshots, reportage rather than documentary. I was genuinely surprised to not find anything of substance beyond the above mentioned outlets (mostly video content), and a few travel blogs. Given the nature and reputation of this temple I think that is a missed opportunity.

The tourist experience seems to be to show up, and spend maybe an hour in the area. Some choose not to go into the temple at all, while others will peer-pressure one another to set foot through the door. The negative association with rats really brings some interesting behaviours to the surface. A few snaps and selfies, a comment to their companion of “wow, how unique” or “wow, how gross” and then back on the bus to return to Bikaner. Very few stay in the town itself for a few days, or even overnight. There’s nothing wrong with this of course, I’m looking to get something that the average tourist isn’t seeking.

The lives of the people in this town revolve around this centrepiece, everyone is connected to it in some way. Maintenance, devotion, or simple respect, not a fleeting oddity to tick off a travel list, or fleetingly admire. Most attend as devotees, or run a business which hugely benefits from pilgrims or celebrations the temple hosts. Staying local means documenting this aspect of the town’s economy, with portraits in the surrounding area that build up a sense of place, attaching the abstractness of the temple itself to a grounded reality.

I stayed at the lovely JMB, which is about a 10 minute walk from the temple, with the rest of the town easily walkable as well. Staying rather than commuting in from the neighbouring Bikaner means immersion, investment in that space – where the alternative allows for multiple day trip options to a few locations.

On arrival I wandered around the town, feeling out the vibe, then headed to the temple, and explored all of the accessible areas, which includes the main hall, upstairs mezzanine type space, courtyard, and sanctum sanctorum. Aside from the central area, I didn’t see any other tourists in the areas I was spending my time.

The rats themselves are quite charming, if you’re open to seeing them that way. It didn’t take me very long to acclimatise to the occasional rat climbing up my leg, or trying to nibble my foot. I was more worried about accidentally treading on one than I was about one of them harming me. It’s unlikely they will actually try and bite you seriously unless you try to pick one up that doesn’t want to be picked up, or otherwise provoke.

Initially I was content to just photograph the rats in their space, but after a while I felt these lacked the humanist element to ground them as more than just creatures – I want to show them in relation and interaction to the worshippers, which is the core of the story of this place. I spoke with some of the workers at the temple, as well as devotees, and was able to rest in place with them while they went about their business, photographing once it was clear that I was welcome with them, their family, or whomever they were present with. I made some portraits, and listened to their stories and opinions about the town, the temple, and the rats.

At one point while working I had a roll snap, which is the first time in a while this has happened, except I had no dark bag to recover it. I took it back to my hotel and used a few layers of the bedding to create a light exclusion zone, with the lowest layer being my emptied rucksack. The bedding was thick wool, and no light made it through, but I had to blanket some of it over myself otherwise my arms working in the bag would have definitely allowed light through. I didn’t fully think this through in the context of the climate, and ended up almost passing out in the sauna-like conditions I had created. I was able to lock in, unload the film into a plastic canister, and seal it with tape before escaping the consequences of my actions, and rehydrating.

As with most belief structures there is no homogenous consensus, but there are some few shared myths and hopes for what engaging with these rats and the deity of the temple can mean. Many told me about an albino white rat, a very special individual who if seen by a devotee will grant a wish. I did not personally see it, but several showed me snaps they had taken on their phones, and I hope their wishes are granted.

Everyone’s story and way of telling it was slightly different, subjective and shaped by their background. Always slight variances in the way they relayed their ideas, amplified by my explanation that they would need to try and use small words and talk slowly in order for me to translate – already slightly tricky due to Rajasthani dialect differences I hadn’t encountered before.

The idea that rats are reincarnated loved ones is quite similar to an abstract perspective I have on the idea of being able to relate to something as an aspect of yourself, so watching the rats in this light was quite striking and poignant. In quiet moments it’s easy to project thoughts of yourself, friends, or family alive or dead onto playfulness, or brief scuffles, or just the way they eat together.

In line with what I mentioned before about lack of homogenous consensus I recognise that I don’t have a conventional view towards reincarnation, compared with the more mainstream understanding of closing your eyes in one form and opening them in another (which I’d say happens each moment anyway, but that’s another essay entirely!).

I stopped pushing my films some time in 2023, when I found that I simply didn’t need that extra stop or two in most situations. The highest speed film I had with me for this trip was some Neopan 1600, but I didn’t want to use that in low-light, but instead to have some lovely grainy bright frames. For my time in Deshnoke I worked mostly on Fomapan 400, Ilford HP5+, and Ilford Delta 100, exposed through a Nikon SLR, and Leica M rangefinder.

Aside from in the darkest corners of the temple I had no issues, and I’d brought a tiny flash to use which worked well now that I have a bit more of an understanding of exposing for flash.

A few frames required very low shutter speeds, and I liked the movement that was introduced by this.

I mostly worked at 50mm, with a few telephoto images to get much closer to the rats, and then again with 25mm, which I started using on the second floor of the temple for some wide establishing shots before using for very close ups of huddled piles of bodies.

I was open to making snapshot style images alongside my considered compositions, which I think work well to augment scrappiness alongside precision, and help bring the story to life a bit more. Anyone can photograph a Hindu with their hands palm together in a moment of prayer, I wanted interactions which recognise the practical aspect of a lifestyle which values life, even animals with an immense cross cultural negative stereotype.

Thank you for reading! I still have a few copies of my winter photography release available, which are a bundle of two zines, one completed in India last year telling a story of prayer on the Ganges, and the other a very personal work reflecting on my perspectives on death and life, combined with an RC darkroom print, all for the low price of £20. I have recently started offering mail order development and scanning of black and white films in 35mm & 120 formats, a price list for which is available here.

An article featuring all of the portraits I made on my most recent visit to India is live on my blog, linked here.

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