Filter Coffee # 202

Guest Edition - On Travels Through Benares

You may remember that FC 198 was on ‘Down Memory Lane’. In Pench, I found a book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi in the library titled ‘Before The Coffee Gets Cold’. It is about people ordering coffee, hoping to avail themselves of the cafe’s time-travelling offer. They must fetch a cup of hot coffee, take a designated seat, and not leave until they have undertaken a journey into the past. What's more, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold. Each one must ask these questions to oneself: “If you could travel back in time, what would you want to change? Who would you want to meet?” I found the author’s imagination and creativity quite fascinating. You will find this book on Amazon. Worth the money and time. 

I am tempted to imagine that many of my regular readers would have finished reading my FC, every week before the coffee gets cold 🙂

Some of my regular readers post their comments unfailingly, and I look forward to others chipping in with their comments or views. Here are some of the comments on FC 201.

• Lakshmi Raman: “In these days of ‘remote’ family connections, friendships sustain us emotionally and spiritually. To me, the three key elements of friendship are responsibility, commitment and dependability. These elements are equally relevant to most of our meaningful relationships.”

• Tarun Kunzru: “Like everything positive in life, friendship should have no strings attached. Sharing, caring, laughing, crying, playing, travelling, arguing, celebrating, mourning, agreeing to disagree... The list is endless. What doesn't make the list in my book is having expectations which are selfish and commercial. It's not a transaction.”

• Damandeep says: “‘Friend’ is a word often used in a colloquial sense. Characterising any relationship as a ‘friendship’ betrays a lack of judgement and objectivity.  I have forever struggled to reciprocate so many times to claims of friendship from some people. While they may think I am a friend, I may not call that relationship a friendship. So I would say it’s to each their own.”

Dear Readers, In FC 151, I had mooted the idea of readers contributing ‘guest posts’. Uma Shashikant responded quickly and shared her experiences of travelling in certain parts of Iceland in June 2023. Please 🔗read it here.

Subsequently, Vidya Rajarao In FC 162, shared a rich account of her exciting trip to Namibia and the post was titled Through Desert and Oceans. If that piques your interest, you can 🔗find it here.

I am pleased to welcome Asvini Ranjan, another regular reader, to share his Travelogue on Varanas, aka Kashi, aka Benares, a place which is well-known and visited. This travelogue may revive your memory if you have been there before and if you haven’t, it will give you a sneak preview of what is in store for you, should you decide to visit. Please read on:

🛕 Kashi – The City Eternal

by Ashvini Ranjan

I have travelled extensively both within and outside the country, including holy places of nearly all faiths.  But never was I more overwhelmed than during my visit to Kashi, also known as Benares and many other names. Not just for religious reasons alone, but by the totality of the experience. Kashi is soaked in legends, beliefs, stories, and sights. It is believed that Lord Shiva lived here, and the Pandavas came to Kashi to redeem their sins committed during the Kurukshetra war by bathing in the holy Ganga. The sheer spectacle of the mass of humanity that this city attracts is a sight to behold. The ash-smeared Sadhus, burning of dead bodies, private rituals performed at the ghats, and people meditating and practicing austerities along the river Ganga, add a sense of mysticism to the place. What I record here are my impressions from the visit based on what I saw and gathered talking to both my hosts and enthusiastic local guides. It is said that the description of Kashi is like the proverbial five blind men describing the elephant. Here is my version.

Though Kashi had always been on my travel list, stories of the polluted Ganga, the poor hygiene of the city, extreme weather, crowds, dust and noise had dampened my interest in undertaking the visit. But the clean Ganga campaign by Prime Minister Modi and investments made to clean and spruce up Benares post-2014 general elections, revived my interest to visit. The invitation to join a group of North Indian friends, including a few residents of Kashi, helped to firm up my travel plans.  In hindsight, it was the best decision that I took.  Local contacts help immensely with certain privileges. Particularly to bypass long lines of devotees at important shrines such as the Kashi Viswanath Temple. The city too, is a maze of narrow lanes and by-lanes. During the day, the million-plus population of the city and an equal number of visitors on festival days fill up the alleyways to the brim.

My visit to Kashi on 22nd November 2018 was to coincide with Dev Deepavali, the festival of lights on Karthik Purnima day. Thousands of lamps also called diyas are placed on the steps of the ghats.

As darkness descends, the spectacle is breathtaking.  A river cruise on the Ganga covering a distance of about 8km is an ethereal experience. The arti which is performed in tune with the vedic chants and ringing bells, is a unique sight.

It is believed that a dip in the holy Ganga on Dev Deepavali day will cleanse a person of all earthly sins. According to the legends, gods too, descend to earth to take a dip in the holy waters. While many in my group braved the cold and immersed themselves in the chilly Ganga, I stood a fair distance, justifying to myself that my sins were not as serious to warrant a dip!

Kashi is an ancient city. While some say it is 3000 years old, others claim it to be 5000 years old. But it is a fact that it is one of the oldest cities in the world, older than the ancient cities of Egypt, Athens and Rome. For the Hindus, it is the holiest city and a place that all Hindus would like to visit at least once in their lifetime. As per records, Kashi has 23,000 temples, the most important being the Kashi Viswanath Temple dedicated to lord Shiva, Kala Bhairava Temple and Mrityunjaya Temple.  

Inside the Kashi Vishvanath Temple is the Jyotirlinga of Shiva, which has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India. A visitor will notice small shrines on almost every street and each one of them being worshipped. Kashi is also called the city of death. To die here or to have one’s body cremated here is to be liberated from the eternal cycle of life and death.  

It is also interesting to note that Kashi has been a seat of learning from the time immemorial. Art, music and skill flourished here. Kashi also attracted scholars from across the world to either visit or find residence here.  It is believed that there is an energy field in Kashi that inspires learning and thinking. Tulsidas wrote his epic poem on Rama's life called Ram Charit Manas in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas.  Buddha delivered his first sermon in Sarnath, close to Kashi. Arya Bhatta, the great mathematician, is from this region. The tradition has continued to this day.  Kashi Vidyapeeth, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Islamic University (Jamia-Milia) and the well-known Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are located here. Kashi is also well known for its heritage in music, literature, art and craft. It is a cherished name in the art of silk weaving. The Banarasi silk sarees and brocades are prized all over the world. The classical musical styles or gharanas are woven into the lifestyle of the people. According to P.V. Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, “There is hardly any city in the world, that can claim greater antiquity, greater continuity and greater popular veneration than Banaras.” It is no surprise that Kashi is described as ‘The Eternal City’ — a city forever!

---

Dear Readers, I hope you enjoyed reading the travelogue. I invite other readers to write guest posts on any topic other than politics, and the length should ideally be a five to six minutes read.

I am taking off in the wee hours of 26th June and will be away in the USA until mid-October. Just as I did, when I was in the USA in 2023, I shall continue to serve Filter Coffee. I may be a bit hard-pressed for time to post FC on the 30th of June. Perhaps I will end up writing about jet-lag ☺️

Take care & be safe. See you next week, hopefully. Ciao!