Thursday 30 July 2015

Visit Varanasi - Religious capital of India

Varanasi or Benares is a large city in Uttar Pradesh. Religious capital of India from the earliest times, it enjoys a great reputation for Holiness and the knowledge of his wise. Legend reports that there are 3,000 years, the greatest philosophers already flocked there to meditate and pray. But it is more than likely  that Varanasi was founded in the 7th century BCE. Symbol of Hinduism, it was plundered and destroyed repeatedly by the Mughal attackers and in particular by the Emperor Aurangzeb. In 1775, the city  came under British control.

Varanasi is fully located on the left bank of the Ganges, facing the rising sun, the other side being devoid of any construction is described not Benares, it lives and it is on the brink of its ghats, these stairs which run along the Ganges on almost seven kilometres, best captures the essence of Hinduism. On the ghats, beats the heart of Benares which awakens at dawn for ritual baths in the cleansing waters of the Ganges River where a multitude of pilgrims perform their meditations and prayers. It comes to Varanasi to pray but also to die.

Early in the morning (not privatized) boat on the Ganges along the ghats. Then, visit of the city. The main temple of the city is Vishvanatha, the Golden Temple. Built in the 10th century, it was repeatedly destroyed and replaced by a mosque. The current building, whose construction took 27 years, dates from the middle of the 18th century and is forbidden to non-Hindus. The city is an important University Center and the headquarters of the Banaras Hindu University, one of the oldest universities dedicated to the study of Sanskrit. Bharat Mata Mandir is a museum where you can admire a gigantic map of the India in relief. Then, stroll in the old Benares, SIP city of temples scattered in a maze of alleys. It is here that the atmosphere of the city is the most intense.


The city, known for its ghats along the Ganges, also contains another treasure: it is the capital of silk. In some neighbourhoods, the sector is living most households, trades transmitted from father to son. There weavers in Muslim families and designers in Hindu families who finalize sales. The production of silk is renowned all over the world and people come from far away to get.