Vintage Varanasi

A crowd like I have never seen before had grappled the city of Varanasi when I landed there just before the New Year’s Eve. It was a terrible timing if you were looking for peace, quiet or even salvation! Thousands of pilgrims and devotees had flocked to the city, seeking blessings as the year ended. I do not know how the Gods managed to offer timely and efficient salvation to such a maddening swarm of people!

One of the many ghats in Varanasi

Anyhow, narrow alley crammed up with people is one thing. But when you add a horde of honking scooters and bikes and cars and rickshaws, you have the just perfect recipe of chaos. Everyone seemed to be driving in their own whimsical directions. The traffic police and volunteers looked utterly lost. Then, just in the middle of this huge touristy rush, some groups decided to march on several rallies! I was going crazy. I guess, everyone was. At one point, when I took shelter in one of the refuge medians at the centre of a crossing, a traffic cop shouted at me for standing there! Apparently, I was causing a traffic jam! Imagine my power!

At the Railway Station, before diving in the ocean of people

The constant spitting of gutkha and other bodily fluids along with the heap of general waste products adorning the streets provided additional challenges in trying to squeeze through the mayhem. It was hard work deciding where to put your foot next!

I was so confused the entire time that I even forgot to click a picture of this mad spectacle!

Most of the people seemed outright deranged too! I can’t blame them. Sanity seemed like a bizarre concept there! The receptionist couldn’t care less when we checked in late at night and needed food. The food delivery guy sent the wrong parcel over and didn't look apologetic at all. Every other person we met on the road seemed to be hatching some kind of money-fleecing plot. The priests, the hawkers, the vendors, the drivers – every single one of them had a strange intention of claiming exuberantly high prices and misleading us with half baked information; one of the auto drivers even dropped us 2kms off the actual dropping point! Maybe it was just the rush of the tourists doing their heads in, who knows!

Inside the campus of Shri Kashi Viswanath Temple

Amidst all this, we finally reached the temple which seemed to be in a way better shape than the rest of the city. The campus was nice, orderly and even clean! The temple shined through its golden top. And the monkeys walked around like the masters of the place. Once out of the temple, the same chaotic streets awaited us. Battling through the menace, we somehow got to the ghats. The most famous ghats – Dashashwamedh and Manikarnika were jam packed with people. But what was intolerably annoying was the constant heckling by the vendors coercing us to go for a boat ride or have some food.

Ratneswar Mahadev Temple near Manikarnika Ghat

Seeking salvation, we swiftly made an escape and walked along the river towards the lesser known ghats. Finally, a smart move! We found some peace and quiet and a few clean patches too!

Such beautiful feat of architecture! Yet, no maintenance!

In the evening, we went to the Dashashwamedh ghat to witness the famous Ganga Aarti. This was worth it. Especially, the Shiva stuti always brings out an electrifying energy in the audience! (Though my personal favourite still remains to be the Aarti by the Pokhara Lake. Way smaller in scale than this but feels cosier.)

The famous Ganga Aarti

The next day, we went to Sarnath. And what a contrast! It’s a short drive, about 30-40 minutes, from the centre of the city. Whilst the centre and the riverside are outright chaotic, Sarnath is an epitome of peace, true to its Buddhist nature.

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath

This is where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. Now it is an archaeological site where the colossal ruin of the stupa lies along with an impressive line of smaller stupas, temples, inscriptions etc. that have been excavated. Had I known better, I would have spent a lot more time here.

A glimpse of the ruins excavated at Sarnath

Varanasi is a city of marvellous architecture. Its sweeping stretches of lovely ghats and palaces and forts of bold aesthetics along the Ganges are one of its kind. I doubt if there is anything like the Varanasi ghats anywhere else in the world! Besides the splendid architecture, this place has attained a cultural feat in terms of its music, composition, and literature. Not to forget, it’s a centre of spiritualism that’s unique and intriguing.

Another riverside Ghat 

Yet, this city makes me sad.

Varanasi, also called Kashi, the name derived from the Sanskrit words, meaning – ‘to shine’, appears doleful. The charm of the past is evident in the expansion of its ghats and in its every narrow alley but can only be glimpsed through the cracks of one’s looking glass. The buildings are in a dire state of maintenance, the riverside and the city streets are screaming for cleanliness. It’s a city of grandeur that’s ruined by us humans. The lack of common sense, ethics and basic hygiene amongst us is simply shocking.

An ancient root tearing through the walls. Is that symbolic?

It makes me sad that apart from making sure that I do not litter the streets, there was no other contribution I could make. So, with a glimpse of the grand past through today's cracked looking glass, I bid goodbye to Varanasi. I hope, one day, the city takes a turn and makes justice to its rich heritage.

P.S - Loved the Benarasi Kachori-s and guavas. No complaints there!