I keep visiting Varanasi

I keep visiting Varanasi, yes i have been doing that for the last 3 years. I made 4 back to back visits but sill as though i have not seen all or sometimes i feel as though i did not get what i was searching for so i have to make another visit.

There is compulsory walk of about 1.5 kms to reach Dashashwamedh ghat from Godhulia as no conveyance is allowed in that stretch. Many a times we have taken narrow parallel lanes to reach the ghat to avoid heavy crowd. Varanasi has labyrinths of lanes,one can reach from point A to point B through the narrow lanes without touching the motor-able roads. Mostly these lanes are 4 to 5 ft wide. Almost all the lanes get sun ray for a few minutes when orbiting sun takes a position bang along the lanes.One has to have guide to take walk in these complex intertwining lanes. One has to jostle for space with bulls,cows,motor bikes, funeral procession,shoppers etc. I always go prepared to walk in lanes with walking shoes, my wife reluctantly follows me. 

All those music teachers,scholars,dance schools, Banarsi saree factories, pan walas, rabdi walas , international cafes all are in these lanes.Mandir,majhar,mosque,jain temple you name it all are in the lanes. If one does not walk the lanes then he or she has not seen Varanasi from the close quarter. I have seen foreign tourists and backpackers walking in the lanes with Lonely Planet book as guide. Don't be surprise if you find restaurants selling Japanese,Thai,Italian, Spanish foods in those narrow lanes. The most surprising thing i noticed are the foreign language skills of those half literate guides. In every visit i do check with foreigners whether those young Banarsi fellows speaking their language or not. Always the answer was yes. It's just amazing.

 I will do more research on Varanasi lanes in my next visit.

In Varanasi either you take cycle ricksaw or a Auto ricksaw to commute in those crowded streets. Cars can't negotiate the unruly roads.

But be prepared for the unexpected.

One is not allowed to take pictures inside those revered temples.

Kaal Vairav

                                                                      Sankatmochan, a temple of Hanuman

Ganges

Yes, this Holy river is the main attraction not only for Hindus but for all religions,  tourists from all over the world throng here. Ganges is Uttarmukhi in Kashi or Varanasi....all .the major rivers flows from North and drains in sea by flowing towards South but here Ganges flows from Soth towards North ...Irrespective of season this Holy river has a mystical power of drawing people. 

 To die here in his city on the banks of the holy river is to achieve moksha, liberation from the cycle of life and death. Death is not hidden in India. It is part of life, and one reason why you find cremation grounds in the very center of Varanasi, and cremation ghats lining the river.

. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats  embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead.

                                                                                        

     I somehow keep on taking pictures of Ganges from every possible angles but still don't feel satisfied because it can not be captured in a picture frame. It is like time keeps on flowing and when i come next time i am a year older and there is discernible shift in my outlook, i rediscover Ganges in a different hue.

                                                                             

Ararti

I have been visiting Varanasi since 1981 when i was posted at Singrauli from BHEL for NTPC's Singrauli Super Thermal Popwer Station. Those days arati was not this glamorous, it was there but in low key. May be effect of globalization has touched this holy place too.

 

I have noticed the people of Varanasi have not changed much, the modernity have not touched their life style like any other metropolitan city. One gets priests of all ages. What surprises me most are the guides who are just ordinary people and have not attended any language class. They can speak Spanish, Japanese, French, Italian just any language without any formal training.  This time i asked this guide who was speaking French ," How did you pickup the language?'

"Bus yunhi boltey boltey." he said shyly.

Here is one conversation in Spanish which i recorded last year. A boatman speaking Spanish....amazing...hats off...

My discovery of Varanasi has not finished yet....har har Mahadev