The wind howled softly……hooooooo……raising small storms of dry sand. The force of the waves hitting the sand had increased, helped, no doubt, by the full moon which shone balefully from on high. The wooden boat creaked….the boatman had disappeared! ‘Where is he?’, I asked, alarmed now. ‘Abe leave it,’ Rahul said. ‘Let’s walk around a…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 34: Escape from hell
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Varanasi Again – 33: Into the darkness…
The boat rocked, rippling the placid waters of the river, as we piled on inside it. It was a small wooden affair, pulled by a couple of oars, and suitable only for five-six people at the most. As we sat in it, me silently and Rahul and Vineet sniggering at each other, the boat man…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 33: Into the darkness…
Varanasi Again – 32: The boat to nothingness!
Once it was decided that we were going to the Assi ghat, things moved fast. Neither me, nor Vineet had any vehicle, so all three of us piled on to Rahul’s scooter and off we went. The deserted university roads, lined by tall trees, shrouded by a light mist and made incandescent by the yellow…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 32: The boat to nothingness!
Varanasi Again – 31: The trio who did it!
The night we ‘did it’ was a long one. It was so long ago that the details have started to blur now. It happened on a night when we had partied long enough, and hard enough to lose sight of right and wrong, when youthful enthusiasm, and curiosity had quelled the sane voice inside us…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 31: The trio who did it!
Varanasi Again – 30: Back on Track
Let me resume the story after my minor detour……. As the boat chugged happily in mid-stream of the river Ganga, the one with the three flows (What? Patience; the explanation will come) I sat on the deck with my daughters, and looked around; breathing the crisp winter air, feasting my eyes on the landscape which…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 30: Back on Track
Varanasi Again – 28: A Minor Detour
I have been telling my story – the story of my visit to Varanasi Again – for some time now. But I must pause now, stop a while, take a minor detour, if I may say so. But why? The curious reader may ask. For it is ‘the season’ again. What season? The intelligent reader…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 28: A Minor Detour
Varanasi Again – 27: Towards Kashi Vishwanath
The boat chugged cheerfully in the waters, carrying its load of chattering, smiling, laughing, gesticulating people onboard. It headed for the mid-stream of the river, and then turned and headed north, the direction where our destination, the Kashi Vishwanath temple lay. The Kashi Vishwanath, is one of the twelve jyotirlingams in India. A jyotirlingam is…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 27: Towards Kashi Vishwanath
Varanasi Again – 26: On the boat
The boat rocked gently as we climbed up the ramp leading to the bow. The boat was two storied with an upper, observation deck and a lower deck for sitting as well as storage, thus making it a little cramped. Everyone instinctively headed up to the upper deck, scrambling along a narrow, wrought iron staircase,…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 26: On the boat
Varanasi Again – 25: Meeting our host
Even while all these memories flashed through my mind, and tickled me, outwardly I remained attentive and kept scanning the ghats for any of our hosts who might be there to receive us. In the distance, a few ghats away, I could already see a couple of bajras moored to the river bank, at a…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 25: Meeting our host
Varanasi Again – 24
Thus we reached the Tulsi ghat, talking, skipping, laughing, reminiscing about our days in Varanasi. I talked to the children continuously, and to Vaishali when I could. The steps of the Tulsi ghat lead up to the residence of our senior, V N Mishra, and just before one reaches the top of the steps, to…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 24
Varanasi Again – 23: Tulsi ghat
We walked along the Ganga, a happy bunch, excited at the prospect of meeting more friends, and going for a boat ride on the Ganga after so many years. ‘Most of the ghats were built, or renovated, by the Marathas in the 18th century,’ I told the kids, ‘as was the present Kashi Vishwanath temple.…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 23: Tulsi ghat
Varanasi Again – 22: Assi ghat
The Assi ghat that we stepped on to was cleaner than the ghat that I remembered from my days in Varanasi. A parking space for private vehicles had been built at the end of the road, right where one steps off the road and on to the stone steps of the ghat. The space was…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 22: Assi ghat
Varanasi Again – 21: Down memory lane…
I had stepped out of the mini-bus, and now stood looking at the house, rooted to the ground, oblivious of the pandemonium around me, waves and waves of memories washing over me. ‘Hey’, Vaishali called out, physically shaking me out of my daydream. ‘What?’ she asked quizzically. I looked around, coming back to present. People…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 21: Down memory lane…
Varanasi Again – 19: Towards the ghats…
Sigra, Rathyatra, Kamaccha, Bhelupur, Lanka……the names rattled off in my brain as I drew a mental map of the route we were going to take to our destination. It was strange that I should still be able to remember these names. I always thought, even when I had joined BHU as a fresher, that the…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 19: Towards the ghats…
Varanasi Again – 18
‘Saajan’. The name resonated in my mind, evoking strange feelings, like the name of a long forgotten beloved. And the place where this theatre was, was called…….again a pause, a break in the train of my thoughts, and then it came, the name….’Sigra’. I smiled, and gestured towards Vaishali, pointing towards the place where I…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 18
Varanasi Again – 11: Getting up, getting ready
I was shivering now, with the cold, and with the emotion that the dream had evoked in me. Hurriedly, I wore my sweater, and then wrapped a shawl around myself for good measure. It was, after all, December, and the peak of winters in the northern plains of India. My head covered in a cap,…… Continue reading Varanasi Again – 11: Getting up, getting ready
The Reunion XIV: At the Vishwanath Temple
All the Shiva temples across India will have a small furrow like conduit cut out into the floor on one side, which serves to drain out the water or milk or other fluids which are used to wash the ‘lingam’; the ceremony being called ‘abhishek’ or anointing. This conduit runs from the base of the…… Continue reading The Reunion XIV: At the Vishwanath Temple
The Reunion XII: Inside BHU
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 Reunion XII: Inside BHU
Random Musings 