JOIN USCharming bundle of contradictions
My early morning grogginess instantly made way for the hues and sounds of this mystical place. What I had read and heard about this place definitely lacked the intensity with which it played out in front of my eyes.
This holy city, steeped in history of over 3,000 years, continues to be demanding. The singular road that cuts the commercial section of this crowded town into two is abuzz with activities.
Young, well-dressed men marketing their services as guides, unsolicited experts on hotels, a deluge of hawkers selling everything from Benarasi silk to souvenirs, and rickshaw rides are a part of the composition of this busy street.
The highly populated yet delightful ghats bustle with action. The vast expanse of water seamlessly meets the architecturally fascinating brown-tinted buildings.
The two dimensional pictures I have seen of what is believed to be the oldest living city in the world begin to assume depth and meaning. For the locals who refer to this place as Benaras, or as the Hindu God Shiva’s city of light, Kashi, this city is almost a religion.
The steps at these ghats lead you down to salvation. It’s believed that a dip in the water frees you from your bad karma and the dreaded cycle of death and rebirth. Neck-deep in devotion, hundreds of people seem to have found their purpose in the divine water.
I couldn’t get myself to dip in the muddy, littered water but that did not stop me from admiring the unwavering devotion on display.
As women in coloured clothes, shirtless men, and children holding on to one another, perform their walk of faith, they are lured by men who offer blessings for a cost. The irony baffles me.
In the days that followed, the city continued to surprise me. The labyrinth of narrow alleys open into a seemingly endless river and it is in this place that the elderly are left to breathe their last.
People throw coins into water for a wish to be granted, and a few seconds later, a young naked boy jumps into the water with a large magnet to fish out the coins. The entire expanse of the Ganges is considered holy, yet in the monsoons when a few temples submerge, you will find people underwater, swimming, until they touch and whisper their daily prayers to their favourite idol. And amidst all the spiritual activities lies a thriving market for trade.
On my last evening there, as I watched the Ganga aarti, a performance of grace, light, and gratitude for the river, drawing an ornate curtain on the day’s madness, I realised that Varanasi is not just a destination but a tangled bundle of contradictions. Yet, if you carefully unknot some of these, you will go back home more peaceful. Whether it’s beautiful images, great experiences, faith, silk, solitude or simply yourself, Varanasi is there for you to discover.