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 Varanasi,
known to the devout as Kashi, is said to have been founded
by Shiva, Lord of the Universe. One of the oldest living
cities in the world, as also one of the most important
pilgrimage sites in India, Varanasi is a major tourist
attraction. Situated on the banks of the sacred Ganges, the
city has been a centre of learning and civilisation for over
2000 years. It was at Sarnath, only 10 km away from Varanasi,
that the Buddha, first preached his message of
enlightenment, 25 centuries ago.
Varanasi derives its present name from the two tributaries
of the Ganga - Varuna and Asi - between which it is
situated. According to historians, the city was founded
around ten centuries before the birth of Christ. The city
finds mention in holy scriptures like 'Vamana Purana',
Buddhist texts and the 'Mahabharata'. The unique
relationship between the mighty Ganga and the city forms the
essence of Varanasi - 'the land of sacred light'.
Tonsured
heads, chillum-smoking sadhus, the chanting of mantras and
cremation grounds where the fire never dies down. This is
Varanasi - the holiest of Indian cities. Also known as Kashi
or the city of light, the abode of Lord Shiva where,
according to Hindu religious legends, the first rays of
light fell after creation. It is here, in Varanasi, that the
Hindu world converges to partake in an endless cycle of
birth and death, life and salvation. One of the oldest
continuously inhabited cities in the world, Varanasi is
paralleled only by Damascus in terms of antiquity.
Many people refer to Varanasi as Benares, an anglicised
corruption of its ancient name. Attracting over a million
pilgrims every year, the city lives and breathes traditional
Hindu religion and culture. Yet it has evolved through the
amalgamation of the sacred and profane, the spiritual and
the commercial. This is a city that buzzes with activity; a
city that is not just a dead mound of history.
What Varanasi offers is life itself, in myriad hues like the
changing face of its ghats (river landings) with shifting
rays of light. The numerous ghats along the Ganga, the
narrow alleys and streets with a mixture of rickshaws,
cycles, autorickshaws, pedestrians and even cattle and the
religious shrines all form a bizarre circus. The devout come
to die here, but it is also an amazingly lively place. Famed
for its religious fervour as much as its thugs (tricksters).
Varanasi is also the place that has evoked some of the most
creative processes in philosophy, religion, the arts and
craftsmanship.
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