Ghats of Banaras
I recently went on a trip to Banaras. It is considered as one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is located on the banks of Ganges River. Considered as the holiest city for Hindus due to a popular belief that if one’s ashes are poured in Ganges, one can attain Moksh (Salvation) by getting freed from the circle of rebirth. An important pilgrimage for Buddhists too as Gautam Buddha gave his first sermon in Sarnath, located a few kms from Banaras.
We took an early morning boat ride from a Ghat (wharf). The place was foggy. The water was slightly red due to Sun’s reflection. The sound of water flowing was calming. There were white Siberian birds that flew around, looking for food threw by people boating nearby. They would let their legs soak in water momentarily and flew around with their flock.
As we passed by each ghat one after the other our rower shared the history behind each of those as to how they were named and what are they prominent for. Like Assi Ghat is one where saint Tulsidas wrote Ramcharitmanas (an epic religious literature for Hindus), Dashashwamedh Ghat located close to Vishwanath temple, we could hear the sound of bells ringing indicative of morning Ganga arti. Next we saw Manikarnika Ghat that is used for cremation. There were logs of wood kept there. Some priests were seen chanting as they performed the last rites of those who passed away. The whole experience was quite surreal and contemplative of the meaning of life and death
