Benaras-- an enigma

 Benaras.The very name evokes myriad images--- a city bustling with life and bursting at the seams,a city of irreconciliable opposites, a city 'older than history', mired in customs,traditions and rituals,while gasping for breathing space in the frenetic rush for a lopsided modernity!

     Benaras is a city whose essence seeps into one's being in an unconscious, imperceptible way.It takes time,perhaps a few days, or months even,to get the feel of the place crystallize in one's mind.At the first glance Benaras is sure to turn a visitor off. The dirt,filth,dust and the sheer number of human beings assembling in one given space,are enough to dispel any illusion one may have nurtured about the timeless city. But once you join ,or observe from a distance, the teeming millions thronging the road to the 'holy' Ganges-- the road to salvation-- the magic begins.Spirituality is the ambience of Benaras with its countless ghats,temples, worship, chiming of bells,devotional songs played from temples and the congregation of the rich and the poor in the hope of  a safe passage to eternal and everlasting heaven! Even a staunch non-believer can not but be touched by the spiritual fervour that permeates the atmosphere of the city.The detached observer will be deeply shaken by the sheer force of the collective spirituality. This old city is shrouded  in myths and legends which one may disbelieve but can not help being fascinated by.The ghats abound in stories, mythical and historical which are known to all and sundry. 

     The 'Ganga Arati' in the evening on the ghats of the Ganga is indeed a treat for the eyes!This daily ritual of worshipping the holy river transports the viewer to an ethereal experience.I am not quite sure if this is a 'cosmic' connect,but the chanting of the mantras accompanied by the chiming of the bells,the smoke emanating from the huge brass lamps, the flickering shadow of the innumerable 'diyas' on the water, the vast dark backdrop against the brightly illuminated podium-- all go to create a grand spectacle and a sensation not experienced before.
       Benaras remains a perpetual enigma with its ancient buildings, the never-ending maze of meandering lanes and alleys; it is a refuge for the devout,a spectacle for the non-believer and a quest for the agnostic. Take it or leave it, Benaras has  been the shortest route from eternal perdition to everlasting salvation since time immemorial.Truly, Benaras is an India in microcosm, a congregation of humanity where one has to go back again and again.