Bhagooooooooooooooo.......
Yes this is how out trip started. Well we had to start our trip from my hometown Kanpur by boarding Vande Bharat express at 10:00 a.m. Earlier we were 3 friends going together by train but the plan changed and now only two were going by the train and third one would meet us directly at Banaras.
So we were at the Kanpur railway station 10 minutes before the departure and were waiting for the train at the scheduled platform. The train came 10 minutes late which is nothing as compared to Indian Railway standards. Now here is the tricky part, we both were travelling for the first time in Vande Bharat and the halt time was only of two minutes and we were standing in the extreme opposite side of the platform from our coach. We started walking towards our coach which converted into jogging in 15 seconds and running in the next 15 seconds. We both were running while seeing the gates being closed. Almost when we had given up the hope of getting inside, we heard a voice from behind that run towards the driver coach at the front which remains open for another 1 minute.
Now the stage was set, our target was infront of us, Ab tu bhaag milkha was playing in the background, Amrish puri was shouting Jaa Sim ran Jaaaa, the driver was saying aaaooo, aaaooo and we both ran like Ran veer Singh with all his energy. Luckily we got into the driver's coach and maintained our Jeet record of by god not missing any train.
Fun Fact: Yatrigadh kripya dhyan de, vande bharat ke saare coach interconnected hain, to kajol ki tarah sirf Raj ke coach ke peeche na jae, Jo gate aur coach saamne dikh raha ho uspe hi chadh jae.
The filmy effort which we did for catching vande bharat did not paid off as per our expectations and the government was not to blame for it, it was the people who were to blame because initially when it was flagged off on 15th feb 2019, the train was perfect but in just 10 months atleast 1-2 window panes were vandalized in each coach, the glowing white color of the train got dull due to spiting of gutkha. Anyways one thing which was still perfect in the train was its punctuality as it reached Varanasi railway station on the exact scheduled time of 02:00 P.M
Finally we reached the city which is described by Mark Twain as "the city older than the legends".
Banaras where some discover their soul and some part away with it. Banaras is where people willingly come to die (Mukti Bhawan) and attain moksha. Kashi simply means light and this place exactly throws light on your inner self which you have not shown to anyone but want to get away with it.
So we started our 1.5 days Banaras Darshan and what better then starting it with a visit to Kashi Vishwanath mandir. We checked into our hotel which was in Pushkar Kund with a lake view (although the lake had no water) and after a quick bath we headed towards the temple where we were to meet our third amigo.
To our surprise our third amigo had 3-4 of his amigos as well along with him and they had quite a bit Jugad over their so we had our VIP darshan. Photography is not allowed inside all the temples in Banaras so i cannot show the beauty of the temple but trust me even after seeing the photographs you would not have been able to witness it until you personally go and feel the same. In last few years the temple has been given more space with some new additions and systematic management which had added to its peaceful atmosphere. The main shrine is made of half gold and half silver from outside (beware of the monkeys while standing in the queue).
After the darshan it was time to become a foodie and explore the local street food of Banaras. So we started by having some "Thandai with Bhang'. Now i had heard alot of Bhang stories but never tried the same par bhaiya Banaras aae aur thandai na pee to kashi se kaise judoge? As we both were amateur in this section so we decided to have a cutting glass of thandai that too with very little bhang.
Par bhaiya badal thandai ne kaam kar diya aur humein badalon ki oonchaiyon mein pahucha diya isliye ye aage ka blog ab kanpuriya hindi mein.
Ab bhaang ke baad guru lagi pehle hachak ke bhookh, to hum pahuche kashi ke famous "Kashi Chat Bandhar"
Chat ko ungliyan chat chat ke khaya us shaam. Ab ye bhang ka asar tha ya fir banarasi chat ka ye to nahi pata lekin kanpur ki chat ke baad agar kahin ki chat uske takkar ki chaukas lagi hai to wo hai bhaiya banaras ki. Itni bawal chat kha ke kuch derr to bhang ka nasha kam hua lekin jaise hi hum sab Dashashwamedh Ghat pahuche uske baad, idhar chala mai udhar chala jaane kahan mai kidhar chala.
Thodi derr shant baithne aur pan, maggi, momos aur jane kya kya khane ke baad jab thoda bhang ka asar kam hua to hum sab Ganga Ji ki Aarti dekhne ke liye badhe. Suna tha ke Dashashwamedh Ghat ki ganga ji ki aarti is one of the best in Banaras and trust me it is.
Ganga ji ke jal ki aawaz aur saath mein ganga aarti sunnte hue samajh aaya kyu Banaras ko city of peace kehte hain.
Aarti khatam hone ke baad ab time that boating ka, aur bhai sahab jab banaras ke rangbaaz aur bhaukali dost saath ho to private boating ka mazza hi alag aata hai.
"Is safar mein neend aisi kho gai, hum na soe raat thak kar so gyi"
Day 2 begins
So after a perfect day 1, Mickey and me said goodbye to rest of the friends as they had to leave early and we both after checking out from the hotel went ahead to discover the vintage banaras.
P.S. I know you might be wondering that why i have again started blogging in english so amigos "Bhang ka nasha utar chuka hai"
When you are in a devotional place like banaras or haridwar then visiting a temple is a perfect start to your day. So we both headed towards Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple which is situated by the river Assi and is dedicated to Lord Ram & Hanuman. The sweets (especially laddoos) inside the temple are very famous and i recommend buying atleast 2-3 varieties of sweets.
So after doing pooja it was now time for some paet-pooja (sorry for the PJ).
Just nearby the temple you will find numerous shops named pehalwan (pehalwan lassi wala, pehalwan puri sabji) and mind you they really offer some great puri sabji, jalebi and lassi.
Now we decided to explore banaras on foot and really the real heart of banaras can be seen only by walking through its small lanes and ghats. So we went towards Manikarnika ghat and on the way we really discovered some true shades of banaras.
From very narrow lanes, to famous small pan shops, from people reading newspaper while listening to the commentary on radio to small shops selling some mouth watering samosa and jalebis and not to forget the ancient sadhus and baba's. This is the banaras i expected and heard about, this is one of the oldest city in the world which still manages to carry on its evergreen charm.
Fun Fact: The Sadhus concept have got some foreign direct investment form various countries which has made some wild card entries of foreign sadhus(including lady sadhus) in the tribe of out traditional sadhus.
P.S. Now a days all the sadhus charge for clicking pictures or for even talking to them.
On the way we also went to Shri Kaal Bhairav Mandir which is said to be one of the oldest shiva temple in varanasi. We also requested a pujari to allow us to just have a glimpse of his house and trust me it was classical. Small-Small rooms, with old fashioned wooden kundi wale gates, a big varendah, a separate room where a shivling is kept for prayers. The pujari and his family was looking so calm, peaceful and happy in their small world in banaras that made me thought for a moment that are we really happy living the busy corporate life, running after money, career, success & growth in a metro city?
So we finally reached Manikarnika Ghat which lies in the centre of Banaras as a symbol of both creation and destruction.
Fact Time: While Manikarnika Ghat is largely regarded as the cremation ghat of Banaras, but it is not so as the cremation ghat is adjacent to it known as "Jalasen Ghat" where it is said that their is always a burning body at any time or day .
When you visit this ghat you realize the truth of life which is death. No matter how many goals we set in our life, the ultimate goal of life will be death. Here you will see cremation of unclaimed bodies who do not have anyone to cry for them on one side and on the other hand you see cremation of a body with a line of people crying loudly, you see body of a 90 year old and a body of a 9 year old burning next to each other in a way as if it is telling you that the only thing certain in life is its uncertainty. It is not only the smoke coming out of the fire that will make your tears fall, it is your inner soul which will cry and say to you that please promise me that we still have a lot of time to live and to do things which we always wanted to do, things which we are afraid of doing, things which we are planning to do but do not have time for it like having that small road trip with your better half or group of school/college friends, giving some surprise to your parents or just telling them how much you love them, quitting your job for a business, startup or to follow your passion.
Do we really have time to postpone or plan things for future?
I have always heard that you can get moksha, peace, Illuminati in banaras but never knew that i will achieve mine at a ghat which sees death as a routine, cremation as a never ending process and helpless crying people as its future guests to be burnt into ashes.