Varanasi is where all the cliches about India, from saffron-clad sadhus to snake-charmers, come true but the first glimpse of the river Ganga here can melt the most world-weary heart.

Varanasi Travel Diary Part 1: A Brief Introduction

Where do you even begin with a city that is considered one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth? Archaeologists have found evidence of human settlements here going back to 2000 BC. This was the site of the legendary kingdom of Kashi in the first millennium BC. Buddha gave his first sermon at a spot about 10 kilometres from here in 528 BC. Varanasi is referenced in all the ancient Hindu scriptures – the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas – as well as the Buddhist Jataka Tales. It has been a centre for arts and culture, philosophy and religion for nearly 3000 years and every square mile along the river Ganga is tangled up with myths and legends that go back to the very origins of this ancient civilisation.

The Hindu deity the city is most closely associated with is Shiva who is believed to have lived here with his consort Shakti at the beginning of time. He manifests himself today in the form of thousands of shivlings scattered around Varanasi’s Old Town. What is a shivling, you ask? It is a phallic-shaped stone cylinder placed in a disc-shaped platform. The phallus symbolises Shiva or specifically his male reproductive organ, and the disc symbolises the goddess Shakti or specifically her female reproductive organ, with the two together symbolising their union.

The other deity Varanasi is closely associated with is Ma Ganga, sister of Shakti (and sister-in-law of Shiva). The river Ganga fertilises the Hindi-speaking heartland of India and is a source of sustenance for hundreds of millions of Indians who live in the Gangetic Plain, which is perhaps why she is personified and worshipped as a goddess. It is said that the river used to flow in heaven and when she first descended to earth, to mitigate the severity of impact Shiva agreed to have the river fall on his thickly matted hair first and then to earth. This is why in many images of Shiva he is depicted with a stream flowing downwards from his dreadlocked hair. The many ghats (embankment steps that lead down to the river) are Varanasi’s most visited and photographed sites, and each one has a distinct history and identity. Varanasi is one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus, it is believed that bathing in the Ganga here washes away one’s sins and getting cremated here after death assures moksha or salvation – eternal release from the cycle of birth and death. 

No less than 2000 temples of all shapes and sizes are crammed into Varanasi’s Old Town which is a bewildering maze of narrow winding alleys. It is hard to take a step here without tripping over shrines, shivlings, carts selling incense sticks, marigold and jasmine flowers, vermillion powder, sandalwood paste, diyas (lamps) and other paraphernalia for puja (prayer) ceremonies. God quite literally is everywhere in Varanasi… 

Varanasi Travel Diary Part 2: Sunrise Boat-ride on the Ganga  

If there is one unmissable activity in Varanasi it is the early morning boat ride to watch the sun rise over the river. The horizon is almost indiscernible between river and sky and so it seems like one infinite icy blue expanse first thing in the morning, peppered here and there with black silhouettes of boats.

Then the colours change to mauve.

The clouds start to get tinges of peach and gold which are mirrored in the water.

Finally just as dawn breaks the entire scene starts to glow like burnished gold.

And while this cosmic artistry is enthralling, there are just as fascinating tableaus playing out on the ghats. There is something heartwarming about men and women of all shapes and sizes, rich and poor, young and old, bracing themselves before gingerly taking a dip in the freezing waters and devoutly folding their hands in prayer, before climbing up the steps and trying to drape their saris and put on their pants as gracefully as is possible given that several gawking tourists (like myself) are continually bobbing past in boats. 

Varanasi Travel Diary Part 3: A Walk Along the Ghats 

The other activity that I would highly recommend is to take a leisurely stroll along the ghats to watch a day in the life of Varanasi unfold in all its eccentricities. I started at Assi Ghat which is one of the furthest ghats and thus has a more relaxed, almost beach-like vibe. There is a pizzeria called Vaatika where one can sit and gaze across the river or people-watch over breakfast. A handful of hipster-ish cafes are also in the vicinity like the Open Hand Cafe which sells quirky handbags, stuffed toys, clothes etc. in colourful prints. From here the first few ghats are less touristy and so its easier to soak in the ambience and observe the locals – there are kids flying kites, groups of men playing cards, water buffaloes charging at each other, dogs napping in the sunshine, ash-smeared dreadlocked sadhus (sages) lost in meditation, a solitary fisherman tucking into his tiffin on a boat, washerwomen stringing out laundry to dry… 

And of course there are shrines and little temples strewn everywhere. Like this one dedicated to Raja Harishchandra in the eponymous ghat.

Raja Harishchandra was a legendary king who refused to ever tell a lie. Due to his scrupulous nature and a series of unfortunate events, he ended up abnegating all his wealth and power and was reduced to working as a dom raja in the cremation ghats of Varanasi. Dom rajas are the caste of untouchables responsible for running the cremation ghats and they are the only ones allowed to light the funeral pyres here. Harishchandra Ghat is the smaller and older of the two main cremation ghats, the other one being Manikarnika which we will come to shortly. 

Dashashwamedh Ghat is the busiest of all the ghats and there is always a beehive of activity here – astrologers holding consultations, priests carrying out pujas, street vendors hawking their wares, snake charmers playing their pipes, bemused foreign tourists wandering around in a daze.

Dashashwamedh literally means “ten horse sacrifice” – the legend goes that Brahma once killed ten horses here as part of a ritual sacrifice to welcome Shiva on earth. This ghat is very popular among tourists for the “Ganga Arti” that takes place here every evening. A group of young priests performs the ceremony which commences with the blowing of conch shells. Vedic chants and prayers boom from speakers and the priests burn incense and wave flaming brass lamps in wide circles around themselves. Hordes of pilgrims and tourists watch with rapt attention sitting on the ghats or in the flotilla of boats which pulls up to the ghat every evening. The ghats are festooned with fairy lights, the temple spires are lit up in alternating colours of pink, blue and yellow, even the river is dotted here and there with little burning diyas set afloat by the faithful. The incessant ringing of temple bells and the wafting fumes of burning sandalwood and incense have a hypnotic effort no matter what your beliefs or lack thereof. 

There are many small forts, towers and havelis (mansions) built along the ghats by various kings and queens of the Indian princely states. Like Darbhanga Ghat where a palace made of Chunar sandstone with Greek-style pillars was built by the Darbhanga royal family in 1915.

And Manmandir Ghat built in 1600 by Maharaja Man Singh of Amer (in present-day Jaipur). This one also has a palatial building with several ornately carved balconies. The steps here are rather prettily decorated with rows of flower pots which makes this ghat a favourite among young couples looking for a quiet spot to canoodle. 

Manikarnika means jewelled ear-ring. It is said that when Shiva was bathing in the well here, his ear-ring fell in the water. The ghat itself is far more macabre and unsettling than its name suggests, being the main cremation ghat in Varanasi. The temples here have blackened with the soot of the innumerable funeral pyres that have burned here over the ages. The air is thick with smoke and sparks from the burning pyres swirl around like fireflies. The wails of family members mourning their dead reverberate around the ghat and as do the sombre chants of the pallbearers, “Ram Nam Satya Hai” (“the name of Ram is truth”), as they carry shrouded corpses on makeshift wooden stretchers down the ghat steps where the dom rajas are grimly stoking the fires. Legend has it that the flame for lighting the pyres comes from a pit of fire that has burned continuously for thousands of years and is guarded day and night by the dom rajas.  

Perhaps the most picturesque spot along the ghats is Scindia Ghat built by the Scindia royal family in 1850. It is famous for the “sinking” Shiva temple which literally keeled over when part of the ghat collapsed due to excessive weight. It now stands rather forlornly, lopsided and half-submerged in the river, even as several other temple spires soar proudly in the background. People come here to pray to Lord Vireshvara so they may be blessed with a son…

There is also some very colourful graffiti on the ghats. My personal favourite? A lavender-hued Shiva with parrots nestled in his crown, flowers in his ears and a trident in his hands. 

If it is real art you hanker after, the Bharat Kala Bhawan museum in the Banaras Hindu University nearby has a lovely collection of miniature paintings from the Rajasthani, Pahari and Mughal schools; gorgeous sculptures of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain divinities from the Kushana period (100-300 AD) and Gupta period (400-600 AD); and Mughal-era jewellery. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed, but if you ask nicely in the gift shop the shopkeeper will pull out dusty old envelopes filled with cheap reprints of the museum’s painting collection for sale.