Benaras - The oldest continually habituated city in the world

The skyline of the old city

Benaras or Varanasi is one of the oldest continually habituated city in the world. The city finds mention in some of the oldest Hindu scriptures. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. Buddha is believed to have founded Buddhism here around 528 BCE when he gave his first sermon, "The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma", at nearby Sarnath.

Even today, much of the old Varanasi retains its charm and the narrow by lanes. One cannot access this part of the town on any four-wheeler. Most of the old city is built on the banks of Ganga with my parts of the bank dedicated to different patrons and called ghats.

It continues to be a revered place for Hindus and it is believed that if one dies in Varanasi and is cremated here, they attain salvation from rebirth. Even today, many sadhus throng the place and devotees pour in lakhs. It is also a popular tourist destination for Indians foreigners alike.

Below is a photo story that tries to capture the quirkiness and the madness of this city. Most photos are accompanied by a caption too, to give more info about the place.

Tourists seeing the burning ghats from the boat. Every day numerous corpses are bought here to be burnt on the banks of the river Ganges

A young boy in charge of the huge pile of wood used in the burning of the corpses.

An old man sits nonchalantly, least disturbed by the commotion around

The old man and the dog

Cows are considered holy in this region. So much so that if one does walk into a shop, no one bothers to drive them away

A priest makes his way through the narrow bylanes of Varanasi. The old city is lined with a large number of temples, both big and small. All these temples houses different deities of the Hindu religion.

A sadhu (holy man) poses for a photograph. As soon as the photo was clicked, he proceeded to ask for alms.

A local shopkeeper catching his 40 winks during the hot summer afternoon amid all that chaos.

For me, visiting Benaras/Varanasi was a very special experience. Here I found people to be quirky, intrusive yet affable, the place to be chaotic but in some deep sense, calming too. I have seen no city that treats death the way Varanasi does, in such nonchalant and by the way manner, as though its a truth that is acknowledged without any attachments. "

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