Varanasi Vignettes 3

The afternoon is reserved for a visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. We have already booked a slot for sugam darshan via online booking. One is not allowed to carry anything inside the temple premises. All the belongings need to be submitted to designated lockers outside the complex. 

It is a shorter--not short-- queue for those availing the sugam darshan. After due security clearance, we join the serpentine queue. The newly constructed corridor inaugurated over a year ago is sizeable and spacious. Throngs of devotees descend on the ancient shrine everyday that is one of the twelve jyotirlingas and is one of the holiest sites for followers of Bhagwan Shiva. The temple has seen many renovations and gone through multiple cycles of rebuilding over last several centuries. Devi Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore who was a great devotee of Shiva, rebuilt the present temple about 250 years ago. 

The queue moves reasonably fast and we get a good darshan of the glistening black shivalinga from outside the garbhagriha. One is supposed to move quickly to make way for others behind. Later, we take a stroll through the corridor and walk up to the steps that descend to the river Ganga flowing below. The corridor connects the Ganga with the shrine along with providing many facilities for the visitors. It has decongested the temple allowing easy movement of people that fill up the premises everyday. A beautiful sculpture of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar occupies a place of pride in the corridor. Just outside the corridor, one can see old houses and structures that give one an idea of what the area looked like before construction of the corridor. The corridor has expanded the temple area from 3,000 square feet to about five lakh square feet and now it can accommodate 50,000 to 75,000 visitors. 

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The visit to Varanasi has been truly fulfilling with the Kashi Vishwanath darshan, morning and evening aartis, boat ride, and visits to the ghats and the Kabir Chaura Math. It has also been satiating in some other ways! The spicy chaats, the delightfully frothy and flavourful malaiyo, crisp jalebis, rich rabdi, and melt-in-the-mouth Banarasi paans to name a few. 

As the short visit comes to an end, it becomes clear that Varanasi will leave a deep imprint on one's mind for years to come. It is only fitting that we receive His abundant blessings on our final ride in the city...perhaps there will be an opportunity to come to Varanasi again?

Photos by Lata