The craze of visiting Banaras arose in my mind around 5 years back, when I was traveling solo amidst the bustling city of Jaipur! I was staying in one of the city centered hostels in Jaipur where I met many foreign travelers from Europe, Asia, USA, etc.
I got into talking with a European couple who were on their world tour which had now become the India tour. Amazed by their story I had asked them what made them change their mind about the world tour and start exploring Bharat, and which is their most favorite Indian Destination!
There, they told me about Banaras! All of their experiences and stories are from the holy city of Varanasi. The kind lady asked me to visit the city and stay there for several days to absorb the city’s vibe and she assured me that I WILL LOVE Varanasi.
Finally after 5 years I could plan my trip to Varanasi, on the occasion of my birthday! I had visited Kashi when I was a little newly born kid so I share no memories of that place.
Before we get into this, know that this is not a Guide to Varanasi. If you are looking for guided tours or want to plan an itinerary, you may refer to my other blogs. This article is about my experience in Varanasi and how it looked through my eyes!
Read-> Top 15 Temples in Varanasi You Must Not Miss!
I planned a week-long vacation where I was to spend 4 days in Varanasi and 3 days in Lucknow. I got down at the Varanasi Junction and rushed to have dinner at the nearby Railway restaurant. The heat was unbearable. I took my time and ate peacefully for an hour or so and when I came out of the restaurant, it was all gloomy.
I quickly caught an auto, because I wanted to reach my hostel before it starts raining. There I understood that unlike Mumbai, people deal with cash here and I did not have any. After trying at nearly 7 ATM machines to withdraw cash, my auto driver began to start thinking that I might be not having any money and was wasting his time.
Finally, I reached the narrowest lane on which the hostel was located. And my ato-driver refused to enter the lane as it was way too crowded. The moment I got down the auto, it started raining cats & dogs. I did not have an umbrella or Raincoat so I tried to take shelter under multiple shops standing on the corner of the lane.
It didn’t stop raining for a long time, so I decided to move. I finally located my hostel (mad squad hostel link) and checked in. My first day in Varanasi did not start on a good note. Only thing I could see was overwhelming crowds, very narrow lanes, people staring through you and more crowds. I really had thought about what exactly in Banaras makes people love it?
I rested in my dorm and decided to attend the Ganga aarti (link) in the evening. My hostel was a couple kilometers away from Dashashwamedh Ghat (link). When I reached the famous Godowlia Chowk, I noticed UP Police Patrolling at every 10 steps.
The entire Vishwanath Lane was bustled with tourists from various parts of the world, with holy chants of “Om Namah Parvati Pataye, Har Har Mahadev” in unison! The lane was crowded yet no one was in a hurry. Being a lifelong Mumbiker, pace has become a part of my life, and the slowly moving crowds here brought an unusual calm within me.
I looked around and the street was lit up with shops selling artifacts, souvenirs, street foods, yogis, sadhus, aghoris, and whatnot! It immediately felt like another world to me.
It was around 4pm in the evening and the ghat looked serene. People sat by the ghat peacefully, were admiring the shining Ganga water and a few like me were waiting for the rope barricade to open so that I could find a place to sit for aarti.
I sat there for 2 hours and it wasn’t boring. They played devotional songs on speakers and everyone present there was singing along with it. It was such a vibe that I was absolutely enjoying it. Slowly hundreds of people, rushing to find a place to sit.
Exactly at 6pm, 7 pandits walked downstairs and everyone on the ghat cheered with chants of “Har Har Mahadev” along with it! It actually felt like some celebrities were walking down the red carpet.
The pandits did Pujan followed by Maa Ganga Aarti. It was undoubtedly one of the most serene experiences out of my traveling experience altogether. Those chants and vibrations were so intense and positive that when I left the ghat, those crowds did not bother me. I followed the pace of the crowd, had my dinner and went to my hostel.
Next day, I decided to visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple, but it was Monday. Devotees’ queue was spreaded till a kilometer away from the temple. There was no point visiting the temple that day. So I kept walking around the temple and reached Manikarnika Ghat.
Being a woman, I was never suggested to pay a visit to a cremation site. Watching it for the first time was surely an intense experience.
Why Manikarnika ghat felt special is because, right in the middle of the cremation site, stands a temple- Mashan Baba Temple which is an absolutely unusual scenario for me.
I was standing at a distance from the site and observing cremation rites being performed. A local man wearing half pants and a T-shirt approached me. By this time, I was very cautious about myself and my belongings as I still had not completely understood the local culture and had not interacted with locals to comprehend their perspective.
Around 8-9 years back, when I was in Uttar Pradesh for Magh mela, we had come across some annoying locals who were misbehaving with females and we felt our safety was being compromised. This is the reason why I was super cautious about my safety this time as a solo traveler.
The man started talking to me in English which came as a shock to me. The tone of this man was oozing wisdom and etiquettes. He asked me if I wanted to explore Manikarnika Ghat more and he assured me that he was not a guide and just interested in passing on knowledge. Trusting my gut feeling I went with him. He let me stand near one pyre and explained the significance of last rites at this place.
He showed me the ancient fire which has been burning for thousands of years and no wind or rain was able to extinguish it.
Exactly there lay the center point of the ghat where he asked me to meditate. As someone who is on their spiritual journey, meditating there was a heavy and intense experience. Later, he smeared ashes from the pyre on my forehead and said- “This is our truth. We come from here and end here. But SOUL stays intact. Look at a person’s soul not body!”
At this place, I do not remember how much time i spent but it definitely stirred something huge inside me. He took me to the upper floor to show more pyres. There were almost 25-40 corpses burning at the same time.
Standing amidst it, I looked down at the building. It looked very peaceful. A few devotees waited for Darshan a wall away and some were bidding their last goodbyes to their once loved souls. However, very little or no mourning was spotted. The man told me that people here celebrate life as well as death!
Bidding him goodbye, I moved forward to try on some local street delights. If you are in Varanasi, you must try its local food- Kachoudi, puri-sabji, lassi, bhang, banarasi paan, malayyo, etc. It’s economical and delicious.
Every day for the 7 days that I stayed there, I attended Ganga Arti in the evening. Ganga Seva Nidhi Volunteers started recognizing me and later started reserving a space for me. One day I helped them pick up flowers for the pujan as well!
Getting to know Varanasi people was easy as they are very easygoing, lovable and highly hospitable. Manager from the restaurant where I used to have my breakfast ensured I felt safe and was being taken care of.
For the rest of the days, I did not explore different places but just used to walk to Dashashvamedh Ghat or Assi Ghat (4 kms from my Hostel) and I would just sit there, soaking in the vibe. The crowd that felt chaotic on my first day, soon brought peace within me.
Many vendors on Vishwanath Gali started recognizing me and would have a warm conversation with me. They would ask me if I am liking the city or not, if I am feeling safe or not, if there is anything I need.
Visiting Kashi Vishwanath Temple was also a smooth experience- from queue to security officers, the entire process was seamless unlike many mainstream temples where handling crowds is utterly overwhelming.
On my 4th day, I was supposed to leave for lucknow and my heart was already heavy to leave this place. I do not remember crying while returning back home except this one. I prayed with my whole heart to god to not let me go, make some miracle happen and make me stay here!
At Varanasi junction, I realized that there was a technical error on my ticket and the starting location was not Varanasi Junction. Reaching to the correct station was not possible and I certainly did not want to go anywhere else.
With an excited mind I came out and booked tickets for my return journey 3 days later. I caught an auto and while talking to Bhaiyya, I told him the story. He responded- “Madam, baba ka bulava hai, unki marzi se hi rukna pada aapko!” (Madam, Vishwanath Ji wanted you to stay, that’s why this happened).
I was on cloud 9. People at my hostel suggested that I go to Sarnath And explore more but I did not! I regularly went to attend Ganga Arti, walked on random lanes, bought many souvenirs, explored a few temples like Gauri Shankar, walked through various ghats, and filled my heart with nothing but Varanasi.
The day I came back from Varanasi Junction to this hostel, everything changed! I started talking to more locals and every time I would walk on those streets, friendly callings were all that I could listen to. It felt like a family. One of them actually taught me how I should say HUM (pronoun for I in Hindi, in a more respectful manner) instead of MAI (Pronoun for I in Hindi, in informal way), and any UPian will treat me as a family- which was again, true!
When I returned home, back in Mumbai, people around me noticed a significant difference in me! I was more calm, peaceful, and happier. My perspective towards life changed drastically! I shall always be grateful to this holy city for bringing such a huge impact on my soul.
If you ever wish to visit the holy city of Banaras, do not visit it like a tourist. Go there, sit on Ganaga ghat, observe people, celebrate and just be there. It’s not something that you can arrange a tour to. Banaras is an experience. Feel it!
You May Also Like->
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- Manikarnika Ghat: A Fascinating Journey Through Life and Death
- My Enchanting Solo Trip to Varanasi
- 10 Best Things to do in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
- 9 Top Places to Visit in Sarnath
- Top 15 Temples in Varanasi You Must Not Miss!
- Kashi Vishwanath Temple- A Complete Guide
