The word Varanasi, Benares or Kashi brings to mind a city steeped in spirituality. And the journey to Varanasi is a quest to find the spiritual you.This is the holiest of all pilgrimage places in India. 

 

 

We set out to Varanasi from Delhi by the Kashi-Vishwanath Express ona hot afternoon and reached Varanasi the next day morning. Varanasi has the distinction of being India's oldest city and there is a sense of mysticism attached to it. People come here to wash away their sins in the holy Ganges and perform rites and rituals for the dead.

 

 

Varanasi is synonymous with Lord Shiva or Vishwanath and the linga is one of the Jyotir Lingas or the Lingas formed naturally in and around India. The morning we reached Varanasi we were soon on our way to Hanuman Ghat where my in-laws had to perform rites and rituals.

 

 

We did not want to go by road and instead took a boat ride to Hanuman Ghat on the Ganges as it is by boat on the Ganges that you feel the mystery of Varanasi. The Ganga is very muddy as she reaches Varanasi and as the boatman slowly meandered his way through the Ganga, we were spell bound by the many ghats. The Dasashwamedh Ghat, Harishchandra Ghat, Manikarnika Ghat, Panchaganga Ghat flitted by before our eyes before we reached Hanuman Ghat our destination. It felt like we were in a period movie or drama as these ghats went past. There was an air of peace as all of us fell silent each mulling over life and death.

 

 

Soon we reached Hanuman Ghat and we were on our way to the Panda Raju's house to complete the rites and rituals. After about two hours we were on our way to the Kashi Vishwanath mandir.  Apart from the boat ride, to feel the pulse of this quaint old city one must travel by foot and we were soon traipsing through the narrow alleys and roads to Kashi Vishwanath mandir. This temple has been desecrated many times and has been rebuilt all over. Thanks to the attacks in Varanasi, there are platoons of police men everywhere in the temple complex and you are not allowed to carry cameras and phones inside the temple. So either leave them at the hotel or deposit them for a nominal amount in a shop nearby. 

 

 

Varanasi teems with guides and the minute you land in Varanasi one of the many guides will latch on to you. Maybe there is something in the traveller thatis easilydistinguishable from a localite. In the same way a guide found us and these guides have tie ups with the Pandas who do rites for the dead and also with people who can take you to the temple. This guide left us in the company of another guide who took us to the temple and explained about the temple and its importance. Its very interesting to note that in the north atleast in most of the temples the devotee himself can do the puja for the Gods and Goddesses and one has the liberty to touch the deities unlike down south where the sanctum sanctorum is out of bounds for ordinary mortals like us.

 

 

Do not ask for any special puja as every mantra uttered costs money andthese priests harass people for money. The Jyotir Linga is more or lessatground level and is only seen as a small hump unlike the other lingas. We also prayed to Goddess Annapurneshwari before we returned to the hotel.

 

 

After resting for sometime we left again in the evening to see the aarati. The small temples in each of the ghats have their aarati for the river Ganges before they start the evening pujas in the temples. This is indeed a breath taking sightespecially with the sound of cymbals, hymns and the whole place is lit with lamps. We had hired a boat and we saw the aarati from the Ganga. 

 

After the aarati we went to the city to make some purchases. Varanasi is famous for the red bangles, beautiful brass figurines, lovely thick milk, yummy sweets etc. Not to forget Varanasi is famous for the Benares sari just as the Kanjeevaram is to the south so is the Benares sari to the north.

 

 

 

Best time to travel: October to March

 

 

Access: Varanasi is accessible by Train and Flight from Delhi and Calcutta. Incase travelling by train from Delhi then take the Kashi Vishwanath Express which leaves Delhi in the late afternoon and reaches the next morning.

 

 

Stay:Good budget hotels.Tariff ranges from 700/- onwards.