So there we were, sitting on the ghats, on chairs (most pple were sitting on the floor) and in prime position for the arti ceremony thanks to our hosts at #UPTWC16. It was a full moon night, the ceremony was underway, conch shells had been blown, lamps were lit, bells were ringing and devotional songs…
Varanasi Part 2 in which it got a whole lot worse, before it got great!
The writers’ conference which I had enjoyed immensely had come to an end. The only bit I had hated was the hotel, The Ramada, it was my second stay in a Ramada hotel, and I can assure you, it will be my last. However, in terms of the city, we had been shown the bits…
Varanasi, Benares, Banaras or Kashi, regardless its not an easy destination.
Varanasi will chew you up and spit you out and won’t be concerned about the consequences, not even one iota. For through tourists flock there in their masses, to visit the world’s oldest living city, and to absorb, as if by osmosis, some of India’s famed spirituality; as Tahir Shah so succinctly put it, ‘Enlightenment…