Thoughtriders.com

What do you do when you suddenly think of showing a holy city to the whole world - without pictures, with words. This indeed is a gruesome task and even more so when you have more than 5000 years of incomparable history and none too insignificant to be left out in the dark.

We all have knowingly or unknowingly nurtured a secret desire to wash away our sins one day with some divine dip in some holy water. That brings me to the introduction of the sacred river Ganges, the very soul of the city that runs through its heart, touching and purifying lives all through its mystic journey of over 2510 kms i.e. 1560 miles originating from western Himalayas to the Sunderbans delta in Bay of Bengal.

WELCOME TO VARANASI, Kashi, Banaras, بنارس, or whatever you may wish to call it. - the city of salvation, moksha and spiritual growth. As you peep further down the narrow by-lanes of the city’s glorious history, you will find it assuming as many names as one of the world’s oldest city deserves - Avimuktaka, Anandakanana, Mahasmasana, Surandhana, Brahma Vardha, Sudarsana, Ramya, and Kasi to name a few. Popular anecdotes attached to the city even say that the city’s thought can lead you to salvation. It has always been true for me.

Time is one luxury you can always afford in this city of eternal joy. As you earn your way out in the city’s labyrinth, you will wonder how you are never tired no matter what and how you get in and eventually get out of. The real Varanasi lies at the banks of the sacred river fondly and popularly known as the Ghats. The real Varanasi also lies in the popular local adage - “Rand, saand, seedhi, sanyasi, Inse bache to seve kasi” - you will only be able to serve this holy city if you are left with something after serving raand-prostitues, saand - oxen, seedhi - the stairs of the ghats and finally sanyasi - the holy men abounding the city. A panoramic aerial view of the city will entice you as you prepare yourself to believe that it actually is a city in the shape of partial moon. And a popular mythological folklore further engraves its presence in your mind that the city must have been created by Hindu deity ‘Lord Shiva’ and it rests peacefully on his ‘trishul’.

The story of a hundred ghats will suffice your cravings for real history that you can touch and feel – even today. The city semi-circles nearly 100 ghats, all with their own rich plethora of history and time travel. The amazing part is that all the 100 ghats have sustained the maniacal fantasies of emperors from the Mughal rule and are the proud witnesses of the city’s journey from a spiritual centre to a coveted centre for learning the basics of humanity. The prominent amongst these are Dashashwamedh ghat, Manikarnika ghat, Harishchandra Ghat, Scindia Ghat, Panchganga ghat, Man-mandir ghat, Lalita Ghta, Assi ghat, Tulsi ghat etc.

Varanasi – in the wee hours transforms to a soulful rendition of some epic classical music with a divine aura engulfing it. Life wakes up as early as 3′O clock in the morning with the preparations for the routine ‘Ganga nahan’ and prayers in the thousands of temple forming the city bylines. Countless temples bind the city with a religious thread – each with a story of its own – each narrating history as if it were yesterday. The prominent amongst these are the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Sankat Mochan temple, The Durga temple and the Kashi Vishwanath or Birla mandir in the B.H.U. Many others hold significant historical prominence but a blog space will just be an injustice to their sheer worth of discussion factor. See, I just

As much known for its spiritual importance, Varanasi is home to some of the world’s finest crafts and commercial items like benarsee sarees, hand woven and intricately designed carpets and handicrafts. The renowned Musical gharanas of India belong to this city where art & culture are revered with an inherent proclivity. Some of the most noted names that have for ages satiated the human desires for a divine connect through music include the likes of Pandit Ravi Shanakar, Girja Devi, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Late Ustad Bismillah Khan. Not to be forgotten are the legends of tabla gharanas including Pandit Sharda Sahai, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Pandit Shamta Prasad.
There is something that makes every aspect of this great city – mystical. Whether its the timeless history attached to it or the colourful zing of the people who reside here, Benarasi – is what they exclaim with pride. The visible footprints of Ramayana being written here by Tulsidas is only the evidence that there is ample reason and logic if people call it the city of Gods, the city of temples, or a universal capital of the world. No only that, the city has given birth to numerous other writers, historians and scholars of repute like Kabir Das, Munshi Premchand, Kulluka Bhatt, Jayashankar Prasad, Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla, Jagannath Pasad Ratnakar, Devki Nandan Khatri, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi and many many more.

As you soak deep down into the city’s old dwellings, a unique charm captivates your heart and mind. Gazing aimlessly in the eternity of the city as you sit chanting a strange pick up line from the continuously blaring loudspeakers across the city’s enchanting markets, a day just passes on leaving you feel more learned than ever and a level higher spiritually. That is Benaras for you.

An acclaimed age old centre of learning – as I learnt during my college days in B.H.U. (the world’s 3rd largest residential university with as many as 188 domains of education) - ‘yeh sarv vidya ki rajdhani’ – this city – is the capital of knowledge. It houses the world’s only Sanskrit university (now called Sampoornand Sanskrit University) where the disciples as well as the teachers all speak and live sanskrit, the language of India.
My own connect to the city traces back to three generations and I owe it to my great grand fathers who chose this truly divine city to reside and revere. Summing up Varanasi in a two pager is like trying to measure a desert – walking. As Mark Twain said “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”.

WELCOME TO VARANASI – The city begins.