Monday 14 September 2015

Ghats Of Varanasi

Varanasi is famous and well known for its ghats. The city has enormous number of ghats on the bank of river Ganges. Ghats of Varanasi have a stretch from south to north which are approx 80 in numbers. From Assi ghat in south to Raj ghat in north there are several other ghats in between which have their own beauty in itself. When you think of Varanasi sightseeing then you must have a boat ride along the river Ganga. Most of the ghats in Varanasi are used for bathing but their are few burning ghats along the river Ganga where the bodies are cremated in public. The well known burning ghats are Manikarnika ghat and Harishchandra ghat.

Ghats-of-Varanasi


A walk around the Ghats in morning is peaceful experience and it has own feeling looking at sun rise on the different side of the river Ganga. In the evening one must take a boat ride along the river from Dashashwamedh ghat to Manikarnika ghat. In evening by having a boat ride, one can have a look on Ganga Arti (river worship ceremony) performed by various pilgrims on different ghats.

When roaming around various Varanasi ghats in evening and morning you can see many other interesting things other than taking a bath into holy river Ganga. People doing yoga, pandas giving blessings, local vendors selling flowers, massage therapy in morning and Different people comes to improve their karma by giving to beggars.

Assi ghat Varanasi

Assi ghat is southernmost ghat of the city. According to the history, it is a belief that goddess durga had thrown her sword in the river(which is assi river) after killing the demon shumbha and nishumbha. Assi ghat is a place where assi river and the river ganga unites. Assi ghat is one of the famous and popular in all of the Varanasi ghats. People from all over the world comes to this place, if they have come to India for tourism.

Assi-ghat


How to reach Assi ghat?
You can take a auto rikshaw or private car to Assi ghat directly form different spots of the city.

Dashashwamedh Ghat Varanasi

According to ones belief this Varanasi ghat was created by lord Brahma to welcome lord Shiva on earth. The ghat looks more beautiful and amazing in the evening when Ganga Arti is performed by pilgrims to worship lord Shiva,lord Surya and the river Ganga. Special Arti is performed on Tuesday and on festive occasions such as Dev Diwali.

Dashashwamedh-ghat


How to reach Dashashwamedh ghat?
You can reach by various ways. you can have a auto rickshaw or a private car, as per your convenience. You can hire a convenient vehicle to Godaulia and after Godaulia you have to travel a distance of 5 minute walk because no vehicle is allowed beyond this limit and by having a walk to Dashashwamedh ghat from Godaulia you can have a look over different street side foods and other stuff which has its own beauty.

Manikarnika Ghat Varanasi

It is one of the burning ghats and one the famous ghat of Varanasi where people come from different places for cremation process. The mythology relates this ghat to lord Vishnu and lord Shiva. This ghat is a place where everyone comes face to face with life and death. At this ghat fire continuously burns with a stream of dead bodies which is covered in cloths. Most of the people from the country have a wish to die here in search of Moksh, as they believe it will liberate them from cycle of death and rebirth.

Manikarnika-ghat


How to reach Manikarnika ghat?
If you are new to city i would recommend either you take a boat ride to Manikarnika ghat from Dashashwamedh ghat or you can walk from one ghat to another to reach here as every ghats of Varanasi are connected to each other.







Saturday 12 September 2015

Varanasi - The City Which Holds the Secret of Life


The name Varanasi originates from the names of two rivers Varuna and Asi. Varuna, still flowing in the city and asi is a small stream near Asi ghat. The city is also reffered to as "kashi" which means 'luminous one’ or ‘city of the light’ and derived its name from ‘Kasha’ which actually means ‘brightness’. Varanasi is also known by the name Banaras. The city is also known for its heritage in music, art, culture, religion and literature.


                     khaak hai jis jameen ka paras, wo sehar benares hai..
Varanasi India is a mysterious city in itself. It is known to be the oldest city in the world, existing here even before traditions were established.Varanasi is said to be founded by Lord Shiva and Parvati as the most religious place in the world. Every year over 100 million people across the world visit Varanasi and different tourist places in Varanasi to experience the culture and tradition followed by this city.

In terms of tourism and places to visit in Varanasi, this city is the only place where you could end up with inner peace and be a part of one of the oldest Indian traditions as well. Other than religious places, there are several places to visit near Varanasi that can be visited such as Sarnath and Ram Nagar. Where Sarnath is one of four holy Buddhist sites sanctioned by the Buddha himself for pilgrimage and Ram Nagar fort is situated on the bank of Ganga river.Tourist places in Varanasi have always been famous with foreign tourists, that's the only reason that about 1 million foreign visitors love visiting Varanasi every year.   



The most exquisite places to visit in Varanasi includes more than 23000 temples and 15 mosques for the religious believers and over 50 most known places to eat in Varanasi, including our beloved Banarasi Pan and Ramnagar ki lassi. In matter of food, i think Varanasi is the only place where you can find so many variety of dishes without getting a hole in your pocket. Varanasi places to visit and places for eatery has a  revenue of over $10 million every year distributed over 1 crore people.

There are several Varanasi places to visit, such as different ancient temples which includes Kashi Vishwanath temple, Durga Mandir,Sankat Mochan and many more. Moving on from temples the city has 70 ghats near the Ganga river at which numerous religious practices are performed. Some of the well known ghats are Dashashwamedh ghat, Assi ghat, Harischandra ghat and Marikanka ghat. 



There are many places to visit in Varanasi and around. Sitamarhi is the place which is located between Varanasi and Allahabad. It is one the places to visit near Varanasi as it is well known Hindu pilgrimage and famous tourist spot. There is another place near Varanasi, Mirzapur,which is famous for its sightseeing with various number of waterfalls and scenery beauty. Tourism has a profound effect on people of Varanasi and their daily life and for this same reason they always treat their tourists as god.

Varanasi is also called as the hub of the learning culture and arts. Varanasi has influenced people in spiritualism, mysticism, Sanskrit, yoga and Hindi language. It has honored writers which includes infamous novelist Prem Chand and Tulsi Das, renowned saint-poet who wrote Ram Charit Manas. No doubt it is the city which holds the secret of life because life is all about culture, tradition and arts all of which resides at the core of the Varanasi. It has been the place for people who have born with music and dance in them such as the Master of Masters Ravi Shankar, the internationally renowned Sitar maestro and Ustad Bismillah Khan who have set world benchmark for Shehnai. Other than tourist places in Varanasi, these people create Varanasi's image in front of whole world.