There is probably no other place in the world where history comes alive like in Varanasi, India, and visiting it is like taking a ride in a time machine and entering the river of history. Here, the imprints of India's history, from religion to life, from architecture to transportation, have been preserved in their entirety, and are presented in both planar and three-dimensional forms.
The first time I came to this city has been full of expectations before, according to legend, this is a 6000 years ago by Shiva established the city, today's Varanasi is divided into the new city and the old city, the old city is the concentration of Hindus and tourists along the river Ganges, the new city for the citizens of the main residential areas, mainly manufacturing, silk textiles is the pillar of the industry in Varanasi, nowadays, the tourism industry is gradually occupying a certain proportion. The tourism industry has also gradually taken over a certain proportion of the city.
The streets of Varanasi seem to be filled with various gods. In the alleys, feet stepping on the ground in Varanasi, around from time to time there are all kinds of people through, feel more grounded, people feel a little bit of a trance, it is really hard to believe that this is actually their dream for several years, some cows hate the heat on the side of the road directly lying, and the walking crowd since a harmonious picture.
I don't know whether it is because of the high expectations of Varanasi, or because it is too close to the world, the scene in front of us is amazing, is this what it really looks like in the imagination? As a matter of fact, it is! I have seen too many similar records in many records, when you really walk into the experience here to realize that this sense of reality is surprising!
This is the old city of Varanasi, which is supposed to have the highest concentration of tourists today, and also has the largest number of existing temples - over 1500, most of which are Hindu temples and Islamic buildings. After the introduction of Islam by the rulers during the Mughal period, from the demolition of a large number of Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, the present-day Varanasi those ancient temples have since disappeared.
For people living in Varanasi, no matter which faith does not seem to affect the generations, according to the survey in the existing citizens, 75% of the belief in Hinduism, 24% of the belief in Islam, the proportion of other religions is less than 1%, it can be seen that this was once as a Buddhist holy city of the place, it is almost difficult to find traces of Buddhism!
It is a pity that even after a multi-faith change, today's Varanasi has not changed for the better, but seems more inappropriate for human habitation, although well prepared for the psychological, is still by the chaos and filth of Varanasi y shocked. It is hard to believe that Varanasi is so bad to show in front of the world.
Dust flying freely on the side of the road, there are a lot of vendors sitting on the side of the business, there are still people buying and selling, the air is filled with a burst of smoke and fire, mixed with dust if not wearing a mask, almost difficult to breathe normally. The distance between people in the crowded streets, almost no interval.
Women wearing hijab masked their faces, can not clearly see the expression, and small children sitting on the side of the road, there is a sad emotion in the eyes of the eyes, innocent eyes, there is a kind of longing, I do not know if these children are not in school, these people are not homeless, but you can imagine that their lives are very difficult, and in our eyes, it seems to seem optimistic.
Towards evening, the people gradually started to get a bit more crowded than during the day, and at the moment more and more people were gathering at the Ganges, and the nearby markets, streets and steps were filled with people of all colors.
I was told that these steps from the residential area to the Ganges have been there for too long, some of them for hundreds of years, because temples can be demolished, idols, statues of Buddha can be destroyed, but these are the ones that are used by people every day, and for a long time these steps were made of giant polished stones, which are very strong, and they have been preserved.
These let's call it the river steps, is indeed a lot of tourists like the place, but also a lot of Indian practitioners and vendors to peddle their goods, when you step by step step step here, I do not know if there is no feel the kind of unique feelings from the ancient time.
Outdated buildings, remnants of a thousand years of temples, ancient trees interspersed. More and more people gather at the Ganges River to begin the Ganges Night Festival, which is the most important event of the day here, and every tourist who comes here seems to get lost in time. Every person, every way of life, seems to have a story to tell.
Before the Ganges Night Festival begins, young Brahmins dressed in white set up five beds on a stage with their heads facing the Ganges River, and an altar tied in silk with an idol of the god surrounded by flower petals, bells, conchs and smoked incense. It goes on until darkness falls and the square is all lit up and suddenly quiets down as the ceremony kicks off.
Tourists have also all taken a cruise to the middle of the Ganges, and along the way, they have seen many tourists from all over the world chartering boats to come and visit this large-scale event. The Ganges Night Festival is staged every night along the Ganges River in Varanasi, and the heated ambience of the Ganges Night Festival is a woozy sound that has flowed for millennia. Uninterrupted for thousands of years, the Ganges festival expresses reverence for the Ganges with sacred fire, phallic shells and flowers, as well as people's heart is the world's obsession with faith!
Perhaps this city brings too much shock, the helplessness and struggles of ordinary people's lives are shown here, sacrifices regardless of age and race are presented here day and night, as in the minds of Hindus, the four great joys of life ---. Just as in the minds of Hindus, three of the four pleasures of life - "living in Varanasi, meeting saints, drinking the waters of the Ganges, and worshipping Lord Shiva" - need to be fulfilled in Varanasi, so we look forward to the day when this city will really become a livable and charming city!
Author: Just Walking On