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Unmistakably peaceful, definitely worthy – My experience with Varanasi

Me: Ya, married life is going great. I moved to Varanasi, btw.
 
Vinayak: Its a peaceful place. I head to Kashi (Don’t get confused, it just another name for Varanasi!) when I need to resort turmoil inside me
 
Me: really? Thats not surprising, everyone (including my hubby) have told me this, but I haven’t gotten to feel this and get so attached to this place
 
Vinayak: Roam around the ghats, get lost, you will feel attached to everything. Sit with weird people.. Kashi has stories to tell
 
Me: I would love to experience this profound impact which the city can leave you with.
 
Vinayak: Its hard to start, its easy once you start and once you start, you will listen to the city breathe. Every place does has a story to tell, something they leave within you. When you travel to a city you give your time, a part of your life time. Time, you will never get back and city gives you time in its timeline! You can not not get attached.. Its old, treat it like old people, be nice to it.

 

So, I began today, my expedition in search of this overpowering peace. I went on a bike tour with my hubby to discover the crowded yet cool (temperature wise!) lanes of kashi, narrow but colourful shopping streets, noisy but mesmerising roads, dirty but soulful ghats.
As Mr. Daaku said, there is nothing to see in the city and yet there is everything. Its dirty! But, you have to experience the feel of it – the feel of how it has the potential to create calmness; how it connects you with yourself and to the nature, the feel of how the air on the ghats have an ever lasting impact on your mind. Despite the noise, you will find tranquility.
I am depicting my search in this elaborate city of Kashi by the way of pictures. One step closer in search of eternal bliss, this my Kashi diary…
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Satyanarayan Chaat Bhandar, Gadowlia market – a must go

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The narrow and crowded roads

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Me enjoying the mouth watering chaat

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A colorful street – Vishwanath Gali

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Rabdi (an Indian sweet dish) – Truly, city for devotees

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Shop selling sindhawra – A box to keep sindoor (a red color powder married woman put on the hair parting)

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Just another shop in Vishwanath Gali

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used to give you blessings

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The cloth used to cover the God

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Automatic drummer and bell clang-er!

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Sweet shop

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The famous galiche (carpets)

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The yum uttapam and dosas

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Making of uttapam

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The bio degradable plates they give you for eating!

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The hawkers selling food use these leaves for making plates to service. Put a stick (as thin as toothpick) in-between 2-3 leave to make a cone. Bio degradable waste, you see.

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Entrance to the ghats

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a few buildings near the ghats

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random shot

IMG_6558Chowkis and pandits: people do poojas (elaborate form of worship) here

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Another shot of the chowkis and pandits

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Dashawamedh Ghat: famous ghat for its Ganga aarti

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just another vendor selling the best paneer I have seen

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Random hotel. You will find numerous near the ghats

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Dashaswamedh ghat – the one I went exploring

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FireE is considered sacred in India and you take the blessings by putting our hand on it and then on your head

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The famous baba

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Asking us not to click a picture

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Famous paan shop

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Word desk for the paan vendor

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work desk with him working

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Paans used to make the famous Banarasi paan

Deepti arya

Wednesday 4th of May 2016

Lovely write up....ur every late night chat is more intresting den d previous one...

Mrs_Daaku

Wednesday 4th of May 2016

Thank you :)

A “how-to” guide to better photography – Mrs. Daaku studio

Tuesday 3rd of May 2016

[…] I am sharing this post for all of you out there who want to click good pictures. These are tips and advice right from my friend and an accomplished photographer – Vinayak Harshvardhan. A friend of mine who also inspired me to explore Varanasi. Inspired by his photos and description I began my search for tranquility in the elaborate of Kashi. […]