BANARAS # 5

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India

​Exploring the Ghats via boat ride..

Hey everyone..🙋

BANARAS #1

BANARAS #2

BANARAS #3

BANARAS #4

So after visiting the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple we set off to the river Ganges, for a boat ride and the famous Ganga arti..

So off we went, with me clicking away pictures as I did not want to miss out on any memories..

( Note to those who wish to visit Benares ..if you  have a tight schedule..complete the darshan in the morning and then about 4 or 5 p.m go  for a boat  ride depending on the weather)

So we always start off at Dashashwamedh ghat…

At Dashashwamedh Ghat

So I saw the place decked up for the Ganga Arti..which is normally held at 7 .p.m everyday..

Decked up for the Ganga arti

We hired a boat, This was my second boat ride on the Ganges..Had a similar routine when I had visited this place 3 years back..

We payed to have the entire boat to ourselves and off we went about boating and exploring the Ghats..

I put my hand into the water to feel the Ganga..The most famous of all rivers in India!!You can say the mother river!! The most sacred one..!!!

That’s me Nee!! Enjoying away😁

So it’s like you go towards one side of the river along the Ghats and turn around and come in a ‘U’  turn fashion facing the Ghats..

Off we go along the Ghats😊

Opposite side of the ghats ..an island kind…

An Aghori Baba or a sanyasi bathed in Ash???

Why should humans have all the fun?!! #beating the summer heat

Sadly, I heard the Ganges is receding..Once upon a time apparently it was over flowing and was sparkling and clean, now with pollution and waste being dumped, it is sad to see such a mighty river running dry and dirty..

Measures are on by the government to clean the Ganges..

Until about a few years ago,as told by my husband who is a native of Benares, that as a child, they used to see river dolphins in the Ganges..now that’s new to me!!!

Oh! how I would have loved  to see  one..😪

I feel bad about the state of this mighty river..What can be done about it..?? I did my part by not dumping any flowers or candles that were being sold..

I collected a bottle of the Ganga water mid stream to be taken back to my home..( as I told you Ganga water is like all soo auspicious for hindus..)

Benares has soo many interesting tales so more about the ghats in the next post..Until then have a great week ahead. 💕💕💕 

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BANARAS #4

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India

Hey everyone..🙋

Continuing my Benares tales..

BANARAS #1

BANARAS # 2

BANARAS #3

On a fine Sunny day (Summer was just starting at the time I visited benares) about 3 o clock in the noon we set out to the market area again, To visit the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple..
Ohh you should google and read about the origin of the temple in detail, soo many fascinating stories surrounding it…

I will share a few as told to me and what I have read..

This famous Vishwanath Temple has been destroyed and re-constructed a number of times in history.

The famous Kashi Vishwanath temple..

The old temple was demolished during the Mughal invasion by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site..

The present structure was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in 1780.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is also popularly known as the ′Golden Temple′ due the gold plating done on its 15.5-meter high domes apparently  donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh..

The gold plated domes of the temple..

The Jyotirlinga present in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India..

However, the original Jyotirlinga of Kashi Vishwanath, as was told to me, lies buried in a well situated inside the campus of the temple called Jnana Vapi or Wisdom well.. 

The story is that during the Mughal invasion the main priest of the temple jumped into the well along with the original jyotirlinga to protect it from the invaders..so I guess it lies there buried inside the well even today..

The temple is situated in the market area where in from the main market you enter a lane called Vishwanath galli and keep walking and walking..

Entrance to Vishwanath Galli

You have shops on either side selling stuff ranging from puja articles , curios to bangles article sarees..

Photography is strictly prohibited inside the temple..So we had to leave our cellphones, cameras and footwear at shops which have lockers..

After collecting our Puja thali..( Plate with puja items like flowers, sweetmeats, a glass of milk) we set out for our darshan..

Boy, you have heavy duty security checks there…

We waded through to have a darshan of the Annapurna devi (Goddess of food), the original statue made of gold ( or so i was told) is actually not on display  and taken out only on a festive day when they feed 100s of people..

Inside the courtyard is the temple of Vishwanatha( Lord Shiva) surrounded by many subsidiary shrines.

With a quick darshan of all the other gods we made our way to the main temple..

The Vishwanatha temple consists of a mandapa and a sanctum.

Inside the sanctum a Lingam is set into the center of the floor in a square silver altar..The Lingam is of black stone..

Pic from google images as photography inside the temple is prohibited..

Though the interior of the temple is not large and elaborate, it presents a peaceful atmosphere ideal for worship

It being a Thursday and an off season we were lucky as it wasn’t much crowded..

Oh this was my second visit to this shrine and yet I was feeling nostalgic..A feeling which can’t be explained..

We had to form a queue and wait for our turn..

When my turn came, I poured the glass of milk on the Shiv ling and offered flowers, the garland went right around the idol, I was all ecstatic..

We had to keep moving a tad bit too soon..

I again joined the queue and this time I got a huge garland taken from around the idol and some flowers in return..

I just could not have enough of gazing at the Shiv ling, So I again went around and got my chance to pray..

I stood far away and kept gazing and thinking..All these years so many poets, sages, sanyasis, great personalities and soooo many people came here just to have a darshan of this Shiv ling and here I was standing at the same spot staring away as the same famous Shiv ling..I was going all wheeeee at the thought…

Photo of a painting of Varanasi taken at Taj Ganges

So after having an heartfull and eyefull darshan , I walked away happy  and satisfied with the holy Prasadam in my hand..ahhh happy happy as can be..

Soo many stories and mythology surrounding this place..

People especially from South India do make it a point to travel so far just to have a darshan of Lord Shiva and m here today at the same place..Really the feeling was great..

Hindus consider that they attain Moksha( Liberation) by visiting this holy place followed by a bath in the river Ganges..

Hence every Hindu atleast once during their lifetime makes it a point to visit this place…

Many legends also state that a true devotee achieves freedom from death and worldly ties by the worship of Lord Shiva..

Shiva’s devotees on death being directly taken to his abode on Mount Kailasa by his messengers and not by Yama (The Lord of Death)

It is also said that Lord Shiva himself blows the mantra of salvation into the ears of people who die naturally at benares, hence you find many people in their last days wanting to come to Kashi and attain Moksha here..

So much for the legends and stories of Kashi..giving me  goose flesh even as I type away..

More in the next post until  then have a great weekend​ all…🤗🤗🤗

BANARAS #3

Hey everyone🙋

BANARAS #1

BANARAS #2

Shopping and me are never apart so I enjoyed shopping for some authentic benarasi brocades,Sarees..

Benares is famous for its pure silk sarees..

The sarees are among the finest sarees in India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, finely woven silk and magnificent embroidery with intricate designs, because of these engravings, these sarees are relatively heavy..

A craftsman displaying the delicate embroidery work

Working away on the embroidery of the neck design of a salwar suit

Depending on the intricacy of the designs and patterns, a saree can take anywhere from 15 days to a month and sometimes up to six months to be completed..

Check out the delicate outline..as he goes around the design with a blue thread to highlight it..

Each bead is being stitched individually on the cloth…

Banarasi sarees are mostly worn by Indian women on important occasions such as their own wedding or while attending a wedding.

You will find lanes filled with weavers, where you get to see pure banarasi sarees been made..Though I did not go inside..I was happy checking out the names of the shops as I passed by on a cycle rickshaw..some are really really old ..

As powerlooms are taking over the textile industry, handlooms are getting affected..The powerlooms sarees are easier to manufacture,it’s easy to produce them in bulk and  hence the cost is also very less compared to handloom sarees which most of the time are hand made, as I said some of them take months to be made,  hence are priced very high but are of the purest form..

I was lucky enough to get my hands onto one such saree..

Me confused between the three!!! Yes..same design with colour variants..

Finally I chose the maroon one..I got the tassels hand made..😍

So much for my saree tales..

More of Banaras in the next post..Until then have a fab weekend..💕💕💕

BANARAS #2

Hey everyone..🙋

So continuing with my Banaras tales  BANARAS #1

​I had basically gone to Banaras to celebrate my daughter’s Annaprashana.. ( for the new readers, my in laws stay in Banaras )

So Annaprashana is a ritual in hindus, where the child on completing 6 months is initiated to food..

The food thali (plate)

With a puja done to appease Annapurna Devi ( the goddess of food) the child is blessed by the elders present..

There is ritual where in they keep a plate in front of the baby with articles ranging from the holy book of Hindus…(The Bhagwad Gita) Vermillion..(Indicating beauty) Money..(wealth ) Stethoscope (as we are doctors) Books and pen (Indicating education, Gold ( prosperity) and many such things..

Rhea choosing vermillion (red box)

And what did my daughter  Rhea choose???😉 Sindoor( Vermillion) and money next…😜🙈

She must have found the red box of vermillion quiet appealing or so it seems..

After a  week or so I visited the local markets again just to explore them I found a temple  called Khichdi Baba.( Khichdi is like a porridge made from rice and lentils)

Khichdi Baba Temple Is Located In Dashashwamedh Road near Kashi Viswanath Temple..

My Mil told me that people who wish to feed the underprivileged come here and make donations and that money is used in making Khichdi and feeding them..

It’s a small temple right in the market with a huge vessel in front of the idol, indicating the cooking of khichdi..Interesting indeed I thought..

Khichuri Baba Temple…

The legend has it that Lord Shiva once claimed to Goddess Parvathi that everything material that exists in this universe is ‘Maya’ (Illusion), including food. Goddess Parvathi, the manifestation of all material things, enraged with Lord Shiva, disappears. Everything comes to a standstill, and people are left with no food to feed themselves. The whole Earth becomes barren.
Unable to watch everyone suffering, Goddess Parvathi comes to Varanasi (Kashi) as Goddess Annapurna and sets up a kitchen to provide food for everyone. Hearing this, Lord Shiva goes to her with an alm bowl and requests her to provide him ‘biksha’ (alms), and tells her he now realizes that the material world can never be dismissed as an illusion. So, Goddess Parvathi provides ‘biksha’ for Lord Shiva..

Goddess Annapurna giving alms to Lord Shiva..

Hence,in Varanasi, annadhanam ( an offering of food) is widely carried out by trusts as well as individuals..
You will find many such temples near the Ghats..

The ones I saw was the Kali temple and one dedicated to the river Ganga..

The Kali temple at Dashashwamedh Ghat

Temple dedicated to Mother Ganga at Dashashwamedh ghat

More in the next post until then stay happy, stay cheerful and goodbye May😉

BANARAS #1

Hey everyone 🙋

I am back from a month long holiday to Benares..( actually back long ago,but the lazy me couldn’t just make up my mind to post, thanks to M who literally urged me to post)

So, as promised in my previous post Being Nee #2 here I go ranting about my visit to Benares.. 😄

I am anyways on a break but this was like a another break from the monotonous routine, post childbirth..

So, Benares, Varanasi or Kashi call it watever you like is really an amazing city and my visit was fun filled..

I enjoyed exploring the city on my own,shopped around, spent time gazing at the Ganges, visualising the age old place with its enormous history and ancient stories..

In Benares, with it’s never ending crowd, you will find temples at every corner and Cows ( considered sacred by hindus) happily sashaying down the streets..

The day after I landed was Holi..The festival of colours in India where everyone go around applying the colours ..So we did our share too..Not much but just a Tilak…

I took a cycle rickshaw to the Ghats and went exploring the markets all by myself..

Ghats in varanasi are riverfront steps leading to the banks of the River Ganges..Where people have a holy dip,pooja ceremonies, boating and most importantly two ghats are for cremation purposes​..

The city boasts of nearly 80+ ghats surrounding it…The most famous is the Dashashwamedh Ghat..

From here , I had the first glimpse of the Ganga river( the most scared of all rivers in India)

My first glimpse of the Ganges..

At Dashashwamedh Ghat..

I visited the local markets brimming with fresh produce and a variety of sweet meats..

Yummy Samosas, Kachoris,Lavang latikas..

The booming marketplace..

Marigolds everywhere..🌻

The shops by the ghats had curios, puja items and water from the Ganges for sale…( Hindus believe, no puja or ritual is complete without the use of Ganga jal {holy water from the Ganges})

With a mix of locals and pilgrims from the South of India and tourists from various parts of the world, it very interesting to watch the crowds go by..

Spicy Chaats anyone???😋

Ohh I had a gala time,gulping down the famous lassi( yoghurt shake)..😋😋I had mine flavoured with Kesar and Mango…( Pardon me, I was Sooooo busy eating😝 I did not take any pics)

Gorging on roshogullas and samosas ( Ahh was simply awesome..)😍

The famous Roshogullas…

So that brings me to an end of the glimpses of Benares..More in the next post..Until then have a great week ahead everyone..😀