Varanasi has certainly dwarfed many of my previous experiences in India in terms of sheer cultural shock and extravagance. It is one place where you see India at its most vibrant, in its full rawness, and where Hinduism and its rituals are laid out naked, though they still remain to me as incomprehensible as ever.
The city, one of the oldest on Earth, resonates with a certain energy and exudes a vitality that most here attribute to the presence of the supernatural. The city is a gateway to the gods and a place to absolve sin, and here locals, pilgrims, tourists, destitutes, cows, dogs, orphans collide to produce a most magnificent display of colours, smells and above all emotions. From the peaceful ghats that are bathed in the most amazing light at dawn, passing by the popular ones constantly crowded with sadhus, gurus, pandits, barbers and visitors, and to the ones reserved for cremation ceremonies, a walk along the Ganges is guaranteed at all times to amaze, and by far this is the main activity here in Varanasi or Benaras. A boat ride close to the ghats is a must, though at dawn the mass departure of boatfuls of camera toting and clicking tourists takes away the serenity of the morning ablutions and prayers to a small extent.
The place is also famous for its paan, its amazing lassis and sweets which I've enjoyed. Surprisingly, a large population of moslems live here and the roadside stall biryani I had last night was very good! A mosque built by the moghuls also somewhat defyingly stands over the ghats, and is a reassuring example of tolerance and co-existence, at least on the surface of it.
Anyway, time to catch my train to Kolkata...got to run!!
Am well, and hope to go to Darjeeling and Sikkim before heading to Bombay.
Hope all of you are doing fine!

Happy B'Day Ash!!