Incredible India, Episode - #29: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Welcome back to another episode of my travel series on Hive. It has been some time since I published a post for my Incredible India series. In the previous episode, I took you to Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama and one of India’s most sacred cities.

Today, I’ll take you to the world’s oldest living city, a sacred and spiritual place that has flourished for thousands of years — Varanasi, the spiritual heart of India.

Varanasi, the Spiritual Capital of India

Varanasi, also known as Banaras or Kashi, is located along the banks of the sacred Ganga River in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Its rich history goes back thousands of years. Many sages of ancient India wrote about this city. It has been the centre of learning, culture, spirituality and art for thousands of years. You know that a city is old in India when it is said to be founded by Lord Shiva himself. Naturally, this place is linked with the glorious spiritual past of India.

So many influential writers, poets, musicians and dancers have lived their lives in this city, and their works have been influenced by it. The most notable examples are Goswami Tulsidas, who wrote the epic poem Ramcharitmanas and my favourite Hindi/Urdu author Munshi Premchand, whose writings were inspired by the culture of Varanasi.

Journey to Varanasi

Varanasi is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is very well connected with the rest of India. There is an international airport called the Lal Bahadur Airport, which receives a good influx of visitors from within India.

We were a group of five friends travelling from Gurugram, which is about 900 km away from this city. But we didn't go there in one go. Our first destination was Ayodhya, another spiritual and ancient city just 200 km away from Varanasi. I talked about it in my Incredible India, Episode - #28.

This trip took us less than 4 hours by road. You can also take a flight from the airport in Delhi to Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, which will take you about 1 and a half hours, much less than our almost 12 hours on the road.

Ghats of Varanasi

One of the most prominent features of Varanasi is its temples and Ghats. For those who are not familiar with the word Ghat, these are a series of steps leading down to a river. I talked about the Saryu Ghats in the last episode. Similarly, there are a lot of Ghats here as the entire city is developed on the banks of the river Ganga.

We went there in July when the monsoon season is at its peak, and it rains a lot in India. These rains flooded the river, and most of the Ghats were flooded with the river full of silt, soil and other nutrients.

You could see that many temples, which were close to these steps, were flooded. This is a common seasonal occurrence here. These temples are built to keep these floods in mind.

There are so many old structures and buildings all over the city. The narrow lanes, the crowded places, big temples make it a chaotic place. You would easily find people from all over the country here.

With the river flowing at full capacity, it was a bit dangerous for the small boats to ride. So most of them were docked safely on the shore. However, large boats were still available for a good tour of the river.

Ganga Aarti

The Ganga Aarti in Varanasi is one of the most spiritual experiences you can witness. Priests perform the ritual every evening in traditional clothes. A huge crowd flocks to Dashashwamedh Ghat to experience it. The long-standing tradition of worshipping the spirit of the River Ganga can be seen here. A river so important to the culture of India, which has sustained these lands for millennia, is worshipped with great devotion.

The atmosphere during the Aarti feels very special. As the sun sets in the west, the crowd starts taking its place, trying to get the best view of it. There are holy chants, ringing of bells, blowing of conch shells and other sounds that fill the bank of the river.

It serves as a good tourist attraction in this place as well. We went there in the off-season, and it was still very crowded. I can't believe how many visitors will be there right now when we are a few days away from Diwali.

Kashi — The City of Lord Shiva

According to the Hindu legend, this city was founded by Lord Shiva himself. One of his names is Kashinath, which is "Lord of Kashi". The city has many temples dedicated to Shiva, most famous being the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva, which are spread all across the country. This makes it one of the most sacred shrines of Hinduism.

Lord Shiva's presence is felt at every corner in this city. You are never a few hundred meters away from a temple here. If you can't find a temple, maybe try a tree or river or a hill; everything that is natural is worshipped in this culture.

We visited the temple early morning, you are not allowed to take your phones inside. So, this is all I can show you.

I would love to come back here and experience the beautiful chaos once again. Every lane, temple, ghat and building has a story of its own. I hope you get the chance to witness this vibrant city full of energy and life.

Stay tuned for more such adventures...

Namaste 🙏

Ep - #28 Ayodhya Nagri, Uttar Pradesh

Ep - #27 National War Memorial, New Delhi

Ep - #26 Kedarnath Temple, Uttarakhand

Ep - #25 Badrinath Temple, Uttarakhand

Ep - #24 Kalimath Temple, Uttarakhand

Ep - #23 Bhairav Garhi Temple, Uttarakhand

Ep - #22 Lansdowne Hill Station, Uttarakhand

Ep - #21 National Rail Museum, Delhi

Ep - #20 Dadhikar Fort, Alwar

Ep - #19 Hauz Khas Fort Complex, Delhi

Ep - #18 Garden of Five Senses, Delhi

• All the content is mine unless otherwise stated.
• Banner created in Canva.
• Photos were taken from my phone and edited using the "Snapseed" app.
• Text dividers are from @cryptosharan.

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