The first image about Varanasi that comes to your mind when you think of visiting this ancient city is that of a landscape suffocatingly crowded with sadhus and foreigners smoking ganza and charas, amidst a backdrop of burning pyres.
But one visit to this magical city changes all that opinion so much so that its mystical feel haunts you long after returning from it. The city has been so stunningly and meticulously cleaned of late that, on a recent visit to Varanasi in March 2021, we could spot no sadhus, no lepers, no beggars, no drug addicts and of course no litter and garbage dumps.
Despite all its cleanliness and modernization, the city continues to maintain its old world charm. Even while walking through the main bazar on the way to the Ganga ghats, one gets transported to the bygone era. The red stone cobbled paths, shops adorned in red stone carvings, roadside shacks selling ‘Aum’ T shirts and no vehicles (not permitted), together give a village fair like feel to the bazar.
But the most divine attraction of the city is certainly its ancient Ghats, that line one side of the holy river Ganga. Sitting silently on the steps of the ghats for hours and watch the sun go down slowly across the other bank in the evenings itself feels like meditation… So soothing, and so calming that you don’t wish to speak or think of anything else.
And as the sun goes down, all the houses and ancient structures lining the ghats on the river bank get lit up with mystically planned lights, that glitter on the calming water, with the moon shining above. We were so enthralled with the experience, that we went there early next morning also, this time to watch the sun gradually rise and dazzle the river and the whole world around.
Nevertheless, a one hour boat trip in the evenings on the river, along the ghats that the city is famous for, makes one understand why is Varanasi the door to heaven. One realizes why is it mentioned in the Purans, Upnishads and Vedas, why getting cremated here is ones’ last wish and why Steve Jobs lived here before launching Apple.
Amongst all the ancient ghats and their beautifully lit majestic structures (now being converted into hotels), some were even personally and privately owned by the kings. In fact, the city itself derives its name from the names of the two ghats on the two ends, Varun Ghat and Assi Ghat.
But the most prominent and important ghat among them is the one where Raja Harishchandra once served, where the legendary incident of the Raja asking even his wife to pay the cremation tax for his own son occurred, as a test of his truthfulness, selfless service and dedication.
Although a fancy ferry is also available to take the tourists around, yet it does not offer the privacy and peace of a hand rowing boat. Nor can one touch and feel the calming and soothing water below, or talk to the boatman about the city. The motor boats on the other hand create so much noise and pollution that they snatch all the peace that one longs for.
As one passes by one ghat to the other, one temple to the other, one is again reminded that India is indeed the land which even made Alexander to shed all his egos and greed.
But one temple that stands apart from the rest is certainly Rameshwar Mahadev, with a tilt of double than (9 degrees) that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is so tilted that on entering the temple one does get a feeling of toppling over onto one side, and where the water also always remains collected. The temple itself is so low lying that at times it gets submerged under water.
Yet, the icing on the cake is indeed the half hour long Ganga Arti, which we may have seen a million times on TV but never get to live and experience it. The Arti is so elaborately performed that, it fills the entire air around with fragrance of sandalwood incense, and sounds of temple bells which resonate in the ears for hours afterwards. At the end of the Arti, hundreds of lit diyas are released into the river with rose petals. It is then a delight to silently watch these diyas toss on the water ripples till they disappear, an experience that one can have only in Varanasi.
But come Sunday morning, the other bank of the river Ganga (opposite to that of the ghats), suddenly comes alive with a number of fun activities. It suddenly transforms from an otherwise lonely, deserted, uninhabited and a quite sand ridden shore to a Juhu Chaupati like fun beach, resonating with horse rides, camel rides, beach sports etc. As if, all the city dwellers submerge there for their Sunday river side picnics, get togethers and holy dips.
