Benares...

“Mark Twain once wrote that Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”.


Just a walk through the bustling lanes stands testament to this notion; as paths weave out ahead like some historic tapestry of vapid colour and abstract geometry, where dark alleys start wider than they finish, in a mind-bending architectural warren that makes you feel like you’ve slipped through the looking glass. - Though a meeting with a lethargic cow is much more likely than a belated white rabbit – This sense of age and culture is inescapable in the lanes as hidden shrines and esoteric schools lay in wait along with quaint cafes that serve “special tea” and have dancing girls and traditional music in the evenings.

To merely define Varanasi as an “Old City” however does little to reveal its true essence. Especially along the banks of the river where moments of cultural theatre play out amongst beautiful parasols and serpentine flags, along with chess games, mass yoga classes and the odd game of tennis ball cricket.

Historically this city has always been a centre for religion and learning and is regarded the cultural capital of India attracting Buddhists, Hindus and Jains from all over the country. According to Hindu text Varanasi is dated at 5,000 years old but realistically is estimated to be at least 3,000 meaning it out dates Christianity by a thousand years. It continues to attract writers, painters and philosophers and was even visited by Buddha along with notable others, writing its self into the pages of history as a place of great influence and importance.

It was Mid March when we arrived and to say it was hot would be something of an under statement. The city glowed blood red in a cloudy haze of rising heat and car fumes that created ghostly apparitions in the middle of the road that would appear ahead and vanish as we made our way through the frantic streets on our two –seat rickshaw.

We were heading for the newly opened Nadesar Palace that is nestled amongst Mango orchards and Marigold fields in the city center. The Nadesar Palace is the grandest hotel in Varanasi and historically was built by the East India Company becoming the eventual residence of Maharaja Prabhu Narain Singh in the 19th century. An affiliate of the highly esteemed Taj Group which alone will speak volumes for those who have stayed in their grand Hotels but for those not so familiar I turn to the words of Frank Lloyd Wright the great architect for enlightenment who said. “Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities” which about sums up the feeling of staying at one of these hotels.

We had been at the Nadesar Palace little over an hour and the night was drawing in. Ordinarily I would have ventured straight out on to the streets but we were due to wake early in the morning for a boat ride on the Ganges, so we decided we best sleep and wake up fresh.

We awoke at six am to join the boat trip from Dasaswahmedh Ghat to Manikarnikha Ghat and back. The city was alive and buzzing as if it hadn’t slept from the night before and the prodigious Ganges; the mother, the creator of this city lay bare before us.

Pilgrims performed puja on the banks and children somersaulted into the waters, disrupting the mirrored glow of the rising sun as we boarded the boat and caste off from the jetty. Our boat bobbed around in the murky waters as we watched the activity on the banks. It was not long until we were joined by another boat. As is the nature of the country you are never far from a sale in India and we bought some tea lights and petals from the boatman who gave us a big smile (for free) and planted a Bindi on our foreheads. Entrepreneurs are as endemic as the cuisine in India and the most proficient silver-tongued salesman live and are born in Varanasi. So expect most interactions with locals to have some financial motive which is good to be aware of but shouldn’t taint your trust, this is India after all and Varanasi just happens to be its edgiest city.

The boatman rowed downstream and we caught sight of the main burning Ghat whose flame has supposedly not been put out for a century. It was extremely calming floating on the waters and we released tea lights from the boat, which pirouetted off into the distance riding the ripples along with those wandering Hindu souls making their way to Nirvana; a place where Hindus believe the soul will be freed from the cycle of rebirth and will remain for eternity in a state of perpetual bliss.

I would recommend Varanasi to anyone. I spent most of my time in this city and it would be the first place I would go when I return. For those who are not familiar with India and its eccentricities it may be wise to wait until you’ve become better acquainted. It is certainly not a place for the faint-hearted, as the guide book alone will tell you, but for the discerning traveller already India savvy Varanasi is an experience like no other.