Varanasi (Banares)

We spent last week in Varanasi, also known as Benares.

We visited to take some R&R at an ashram run by colleagues we met in Pasadena, and to attend a seminar for cross-cultural workers who have been in India for 2 years or less.


Varanasi is a very ancient and spiritual city. The folklore of the city is that it is the:
* oldest city in the world,
* site of Shiva's creative act,
* site where a tree grows from the branch of the tree under which Gautama Buddha received enlightenment.

Also, the revered Ganges flows beside it.



Lining the side of the Ganges are a series of steps (ghats) to access the river, many of them have temples of various religions at the top.



Due to all these factors, Varanasi is visited by religious pilgrims from all over India, Asia, and the world. It also draws tourists from all over the country and world - interestingly enough, two of the most common are hippies and Israelis - probably not for the same reasons!

We happened to be there the weekend Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, also visited. Consequently there was a massive clean up effort all over the city - it was reported that one street was paved overnight! Guess what route the PM took the next day. He spoke at a graduation ceremony of Benares Hindu University (BHU), the largest residential university in Asia.


Sam & Chuck




Entrance to the Ashram







Chuck & Janis overlooking the Ganges.