The next stop in our itinerary was Goleria Kothi, a heritage property on the ghats of the Ganga, where we would have our lunch and witness Ganga Aarti, a time-honored tradition of worshipping Mother Ganga every evening with fire lamps. It was a sort of fire worship offered to the deity by the priests on... Continue Reading →

A lot had changed in the vicinity of the temple since we were here last. The temple area was being renovated, encroachments being demolished, and a pilgrimage corridor was being built for beautification of the Gyanvapi area. The area of construction, or rather demolition, had been cordoned off but it was still possible to peek... Continue Reading →

And thus, the cars sped that morning once more, through the crowded and familiar streets of Varanasi. Crowded, but less crowded than we remembered them, and much cleaner. Familiar, but less familiar than before. It pained me to realize that I had started to forget the streets of Banaras and, if left alone, may not... Continue Reading →

The story thus far has meandered towards its inevitable end which, though still far away, is now in sight. The climax remains, the crescendo is yet to be reached, the crux of the matter is yet to be touched, the truth is yet to be told – not the whole truth, not the complete truth;... Continue Reading →

We moved along again, descending from the second floor, using the flight of stairs at the west end of the spine, and reached the ground floor. On the ground floor, we moved from the west end towards the middle of the hostel once more, headed for the mess hall now, and the adjoining canteen. Moving... Continue Reading →

Dhanwantari hostel was also shaped like a square bracket, with two additional limbs jutting out from the outer surface of the bracket making it seem like a crab if one could get an aerial view of the hostel. Inside the bracket, right about its middle, where the belly of the crab should have been, was... Continue Reading →

Some of us boys stayed back at the club however, having sent our families to the hotel in different vehicles. The night was still young, and we wanted to make the maximum of it. We were in Banaras after such a long time that we wanted to drink in every moment, savor every second of... Continue Reading →

As the evening wore on, we noticed that Amita and Sridhar had taken charge of the sound system and were preparing to begin the performances for the night, mainly by the children. The chairs had been arranged neatly in rows in front of the backdrop, with an aisle in between, and most of the women... Continue Reading →

I have faint memories of the Banaras club, having attended a few parties there during my college time. That night, however, I could not recognize it. Maybe it had been too long, I thought, as I got down from the car inside the Banaras club. The banquet hall was on the first floor of a... Continue Reading →

Later, as we exited the temple, Appu and Sutanu pulled my leg that I had myself become adept at delivering sermons and that maybe I should consider a switch of professions. I took the friendly jibe as a compliment. Yes, I had lately become quite interested in religion and religious literature. For several years now... Continue Reading →

As the car sped past the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Performing Arts, I went back in time and could envision myself walking along on those roads in the evenings or driving by on Appu’s scooter and, later, on my own. I knew, the temple was coming up soon, I could see the... Continue Reading →

Later, as we collected our shoes from the shoe stall, Shubhi asked me, ‘Papa, do we have to pay the person who takes care of our shoes?’ ‘No beta,’ I said, ‘The service is free of cost and is rendered voluntarily by the people residing in the temple premises. But as a gesture of good... Continue Reading →

The cavalcade moved on to the next destination on our itinerary – the Sankat Mochan temple. The temple is dedicated to the Vaanara deity or Monkey God from Ramayana, the immortal Hindu epic. He is popular across India as Hanuman or Maruti. His other, lesser known name is Sankat Mochan or ‘trouble shooter’, as Maruti... Continue Reading →

We passed Bhelupur and I recognized an old theatre which had now been converted into a shopping arcade. ‘Vijaya was the name,’ I thought. The car sped along the congested roads with the chaotic traffic which had always been so characteristic of Banaras. But no, there was a difference now. The roads were wider, well... Continue Reading →

I woke up early next morning, and all of us got ready quickly. We were excited. Today we were going on a tour of the city temples. The temples which we had been visiting frequently all the time that we were in Banaras – Durga Kund, Sankat Mochan and VT, or Vishwanath Temple, otherwise known... Continue Reading →

The evening had turned to night now, cold and young. Liveried waiters moved around with delicious snacks and drinks. The women sat together on sofas around glass-topped tables and chatted. Children ran around the hall, not paying attention to the stares from concerned parents. We, the men, stood within serving distance of the bar and... Continue Reading →

Hotel Surya Kaiser Palace, the board announced the name as our destination came in sight after the bus turned into a side road. From the road, the hotel looked rather disappointing for we had seen some great pictures of the hotel on the internet and Avinash, our batchmate who had been doing all the local... Continue Reading →