Varanasi is known by many other names: Banaras, Benaras, Benares, Kashi (City of Light), Anandvan (Forest of Bliss) and Rudravasa (City of Lord Shiva). For a city that's been inhabited since the ninth century by gods, poets and saints, this probably shouldn't come as a surprise. As Mark Twain said: "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together."
This is my second visit to Varanasi. The city may be old - but it's far from forgotten. Tourists are back, filling the famous temples and ghats on the mighty River Ganges. There's traffic, noise and chaos!
India's nation builders
Before jumping into action, I spend a calm evening at the Taj Nadesar Palace - once the home of Varanasi's royal family - which has been converted into a hotel. The elegant, ten-room mansion is set among lotus ponds, mango orchards, and marigold gardens.
It has hosted international celebrities from the 18th century onwards, including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Dalai Lama. Charmingly, the rooms are named after these famous guests, allowing present-day visitors to experience a slice of history.
I enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride around the grounds - which include the Taj Ganges, a modern, five-star business hotel - and have a swim in the pool before calling it a night.
Along with temple and ghat visits, the hotel can arrange for classical music and dance nights on request. Varanasi is the birthplace of Kathak - one of India's most graceful classical dances.
Meeting the gods
Next morning, I wake up before dawn and hurry to reach Assi Ghat by 5 a.m., where I have an appointment with a river goddess.
The Ganges (personified in Hindu mythology as the goddess Ganga) is an integral part of Indian civilization. Physically, she's a force to be reckoned with. The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) is one of the largest river systems in the world. It crosses India, China, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan, and serves as the life source of millions of people, across 11 states in India.
It's said that when this great river goddess decided to "step" on to earth, her force could have destroyed it. Fortunately, Lord Shiva intervened, trapping her in his dreadlocks, from where she gently flowed down to earth. Shaped like the crescent on Shiva's forehead, the city of Varanasi presents Ma (Mother) Ganga in her most glorious form.
Along the ghats
Assi is one of the 88 ghats (riverfront steps) that physically connect Varanasi to the Ganges. As well as being places of worship, the ghats are community spaces where people can meet, gossip, offer prayers, bathe and wash their clothes.
When I get to Assi Ghat, the ritualistic dips in the Ganges have already begun, even though the sun is only now rising above the horizon. I don't bathe, but I arrive just in time for Subah-e-Banaras (a morning in Varanasi). This is a daily, early-morning programme of yoga and music at the ghat, and is an initiative of the government of Uttar Pradesh.
An hour later, I climb into one of the many wooden boats waiting to take people for a ride along the river. Early morning and sunset are the best times for this popular Varanasi experience. A rising sun, lemon chai in hand, the gentle gurgling of the waves, the boatman humming a local song - all this makes for a picture-perfect Varanasi morning.
The pyres are already burning. Two of Varanasi's ghats - Manikarnika and Harishchandra - are exclusively reserved as cremation sites. Hindus believe that death in Varanasi guarantees moksha (liberation from the endless cycle of reincarnation).
I recall visiting Varanasi as a 19-year-old. Seeing a funeral pyre burning at the ghat didn't shock or scare me. I was a little sad and philosophical, but this acceptance of death as a part of life - often, as the very goal of life - is the city's spiritual lineage. It's also a good opportunity for foreigners to learn the Indian way of accepting change, which flows like the Ganges.
A delicious melting pot
My peaceful morning in Varanasi has ended with the boat ride. Now, it's time to navigate the city's famous narrow gallis (lanes) through Godowlia Market to Thatheri Bazaar. It's only just past 9 a.m., but I'm already late. The winding lanes are lined with small food joints, most of which are between 100 and 150 years old.
There's a long queue outside the Ram Bhandar, whose kachori sabji and jalebi are the best in the city. In cities like Mumbai or Delhi, starting a workday with lentil-stuffed, deep-fried kachori (flatbread) eaten with sabji (potato curry) and golden jalebis (small swirls of gram flour fried and dipped in sugar syrup) is impractical. In Varanasi, it's the usual breakfast, inexpensive and delicious. Everything is freshly fried in ghee (clarified butter) and, by 11 a.m., they're usually sold out.
I loved the malai toast I tried during my last visit to Laxmi Tea Stall, so I stop for a bite. It's delicious: thick, homemade milk cream slathered over slices of fire-roasted bread and served with chai (spiced tea with milk). Not every Varanasi dish is a calorie bomb, though! At Thatheri Bazaar, the fresh dahi (curd) is served in small clay pots; it tastes unlike any store-bought yogurt. In winter, the 100-year-old Shreeji Sweets & Milk serves malaiyo, a light, cloud-like dessert made with whipped cream, saffron and cardamom.
While strolling through Thatheri Bazaar, avoiding the scooters and crazy pedestrians, I bump into Jeremy Oltmann, an American who's lived in Varanasi for more than 20 years. He runs "Varanasi Walks", which introduces tourists to unusual sights and experiences in the city. Varanasi has always been a cosmopolitan city, so it isn't unusual to find people here from all over the world. I soon realize that Jeremy is the man you need if you want a guide to the best cup of cappuccino, or a cocktail called a Kathmandu Mule (Moscow Mule with Indian liqueur), or recommendations on the city's most interesting nightlife, or even directions to a secret temple.
Fire, water and prayers
Varanasi is also called the City of Temples. There are more than 2,000 known temples, as well as others hidden in secret lanes. The most important temple is Kashi Vishwanath, known as one of the 12 pilgrimage sites that Shiva worshippers should visit.
However, on my second day in the city, I decide to skip the temple visit: you have to get there very early to avoid the long queues and crowds. The first prayer of the day, Mangala Aarti (aarti means "religious ritual" or "ceremony"), starts as early as 3 a.m., so pre-booking your ticket online and getting to the temple at 2.30 a.m. ensures a much better experience. Later, it gets chaotic and uncomfortably crowded.
Things will be different the next time I come here. In 2021, the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project was launched to make the temple visit a grand and convenient affair for pilgrims. A 320- by 20-metre walkway will take visitors straight from the banks of the Ganges to the temple, with guest houses, a library, a museum and a cafe along the way.
I drop in at the smaller but equally important Kaal Bhairav temple. If Shiva is the king of Varanasi, Kaal Bhairava (a fierce avatar of Shiva) is said to be the guardian of the city. For those interested, a 30-minute drive from Varanasi will take you to Sarnath, an important Buddhist site, where the Buddha is said to have given his first sermon.
The highlight of my day comes after sunset. I attend the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat. It's advisable to get your hotel to plan a trip so that you have a good place to stand and can watch the prayers up close. I manage to reach the ghat at 5 p.m. - early enough to avoid getting lost in the crowd as the aarti begins at 6.30 in summer and 7 p.m. in winter. The excitement can be felt as the crowd gathers and a loudspeaker announces the commencement of the aarti. Despite the large number of people, the atmosphere is quite enchanting.
A line of young priests, dressed in glittering saffron and white robes, conduct the ritual. Their large brass lamps have tall fires burning in them. There's a fragrance of sandalwood in the air, which is an essential component of any aarti. Prayers to the Ganges are chanted together by all the priests as they wave and circle the lamps.
Temple of learning
The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is the largest residential university campus in South Asia. Spread across 4,000 acres of land, it has five institutes, 16 faculties, 140 departments, four advanced centres and four interdisciplinary schools. The campus is famous for its greenery and pretty areas in which to spend quiet afternoons, even if you aren't a student here. I see peacocks while I'm walking around.
I decide to visit the Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum on the university campus. It's a wonderfully rich repository of India's art, culture and history. Jeremy Oltmann, the American guide, recommended that I see the amazing Alice Boner Gallery. Boner was a Swiss painter, sculptor, art historian and Indologist. She lived in Varanasi from 1936 to 1978, after coming to India with the internationally renowned Uday Shankar dance troupe. The gallery is designed like a mandala, leading me through the various phases of Boner's fascinating life, reflected in her sculpture, dance, painting and writing.
This gorgeous museum is the perfect end to my trip. It offers a multifaceted snapshot of Varanasi, revealing the many layers of its ancient history as well as the rich contribution the city has made to shaping India's vibrant, modern identity.