River Ganga and the sandy riverbed on the way to Vindhyachal As I had mentioned in my earlier post the my journey this time ended up as a classic pilgrimage . The places I visited were temple towns and each temple there has a interesting legend associated with it. One such triad of goddesses is Vindhyachal. 70KM from the religious city of Varanasi , Vindhyachal is another sacred place for the believers of Goddess Durga. The presiding deity Vindhyavasini (The Goddess who lives on Vindhyachal) is instant bestower of benediction. Read more »

Ramnagar Fort Apart from the popular Buddhist center Sarnath there is another half-day excursion from Varanasi and that is Ramnagar Fort . Built by a Kashi Naresh Ramanagar fort is the residence of the Royal family of Varanasi even today. The fort built in mughal style using chunar sandstone stands high above the flood levels of River Ganga. Only a part of the fortress is accessible to the public. Sarswati Bhavan which was the durbar hall those days is converted into a museum. The fort also houses a temple dedicated to Veda Vyasa. Read more »

Pontoon Bridge Varanasi end During my trip to Varanasi few months ago I visited Ramnagar for its popular fort museum. More than the fort and the interesting collection of weapons in the museum I was thrilled at the pontoon bridge across River Ganga. This pontoon bridge is available only during winters when the river recedes. When the river is swollen during summers the only mode of travel is by boat. The new bridge stands high but, is too very far from being completed. From Bharat Hindu University I took a shared autorikshaw to the fort and I went on this bridge! Though everyday thousands of people travel to-and-fro this bridge I was taken aback to see an autorikshaw front wheel stuck in the broken wooden plank of the bridge! I am sharing few pictures as only pictorial narration of my experiences and not being judgemental about anything. I sometimes get amazed by how makeshift arrangements effectively work though with some degree of danger involved! Read more »

Sarnath archaeological ruins and Dhamekh Stupa in the background Most popular excursion from Varanasi is Sarnath. Another sacred place where Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma. Buddha delivered his first sermon in a deer park just outside of city of Kashi. He probably chose this place as it was an important crossroads of that time, an established religious and commercial hub of those days. People who visit Sarnath doesn't realize it was an important place for the believers of Lord Shiva. Sarnath- as it is called today is the short form for Saranganatha which means Lord of deer , ie another name of Lord Shiva. Though Sarnath is popular as Buddhist pilgrim center the name came from a small shrine dedicated to Saranganatha which is a KM away from the popular imposing Dhamekh stupa . That is how there was a deer park in this place. On Hindu auspicious days this temple gets many visitors otherwise is a very quiet place. Read more »

Durga Temple and Durga Kund of Varanasi Tales of ancient temples in Kashi! That means- this post is a long read! Hope it keeps you interested! Visit to Kashi is much more than collecting pictures of skinny bearded old men bathing in river Ganga, or ash clad Naga sadhus or the prevailing dirt. It is much more, at least for Hindus. And that is the reason I always mention I was visiting Kashi- to behold the image of divine, not Varanasi for sightseeing. People talk about disordered, crowded, unhygienic jungle of temples called Varanasi. But, for Hindus who's vision is beyond the lanes and ghats of the city, Kashi is an ordered and structured universe with Vishwanatha temple as the center. Every temple here occupies the right place in that sacred geography. Well, that structure is a bit twisted by the destruction during muslim rule but sanctity prevails. Read more »

Austere clad sadhus are favorite subjects to photograph in Varanasi? For me there were many favorite subjects including canines! I am sharing few pics here. Are you surprised? Why am I talking about dogs of all other sacred things in Kashi? Read more »

Tons of websites appear in the result list when you google for Varanasi. And the most mentioned 'must-do' item will be Ganga Aarti in the evening on Dashashwamedha Ghat (Read more on ghats here ). Well, it is a beautiful, grand, elaborate, touching event in Varanasi although it looks a bit dramatic and touristy. As I mentioned earlier my trip was for seven days in Kashi and every evening I watched this event with full enthusiasm and devotion. I didn't care about the mosquitoes, about the light colored clothes I was wearing, that stinking cow dung right beside me and the people who were determined to sell the music CDs to me. Everyday I was there at 5:45PM. Read more »

Well, Kashi is city of very interesting things. People come here- to die, to perform rituals, to pray, to get married, to smoke, to experience and what not! One evening I was walking back from Asi ghat to Dashashwamedha ghat and was immersed in some thought. I was walking near the Harishchandra ghat and a big crowd screaming with excitement brought me back to the world! Curious I was went looking for the reason for that kind of excitement near a cremation ground. Yes! Harishchandra ghat is a cremation ground. (Read more about Varanasi Ghats here ) Read more »

As I mentioned in the earlier post, Kashi is much happening place. For tourists, ghats (see post Experiencing Ghats )are the main attractions though there are few other attractions like Banaras Hindu University campus which is walkable from Asi Ghat. Kala Bhavan museum and the new Vishwanatha temple built by Birlas are located here. The Durga Shaktipeeth in the city too is quite popular ancient temple. There are few other temples in the city. But, after visiting the ghats and Kashi Vishwanatha Temple nothing seems very interesting. I was quite amazed to see the inflow of foreign tourists here. Sometimes tourists make great pictures too :) Here I am sharing 20 pictures of Kashi Ghat as I saw! Boats everywhere! Read more »

Varanasi Ghats Well, what are ghats ? In simple terms, they are just very wide flights of steps to go down to the river for a holy dip or bath! Many things happen here. In fact, the whole city (not Varanasi, but ancient city of Kashi) was built around these ghats and the Kashi Vishwanath temple. There are innumerable temples at every step. Submerged, mutilated, destroyed, rebuilt and non-existant ... there are many states to assign! The whole stretch of ghats from confluence of river Ganga with rivulets Asi to Varuna is of about 4KM. Dashashwamedha Ghat is the main and much happening ghat. As you walk away from here in either directions the ghats get less crowded, less expensive and less clean. Every step you walk there is a Shiva temple. The functioning temples are closed in the afternoon. Some temples have huge lingams. Read more »