Varanasi : Vibrancy In Spirituality

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I will try not to romanticize my stay and travel experience in Varanasi. I will keep it real. And here we start. 

Last week of December 2024:

So the train left the station at around 11am and we reached Varanasi at 6pm (same day). Nothing worthwhile happened other than me reading 'Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban' again.Also the man sitting right opposite to me, gave his Laddu Gopal to me for sometime. By sometime, I mean an hour or maybe a little more than that. Gopal Ji sat on my lap and enjoyed the scenic view outside while I tried to do the same. 

After arriving at the station:

Faced dirty, horrendous traffic. I booked a hotel via the Agoda app but couldn't reach the hotel via road or phone. This information is to communicate to my readers that I settled for far less than what I had hoped for. Let's not overlook the fact that I was already feeling very frustrated and angry at this particular moment. Mumma, as usual, was very poised and calm, outwardly. Got a hotel, by Bhairav's grace, I suppose. Spent three nights there. But as I said, had to settle for far less than what I had expected and my mother insisted us staying there because it was near 'Girja Ghar'. If you have been to Varanasi, you will know that it's located in the main locality. So the first night was not a great night. Had cough and cold, couldn't sleep because of cars honking all night and also because my body was yet to accept the new place where I would spend the next two nights. 

Next morning, mother and I quickly got ready to visit the 'Kal Bhairav Mandir'. Had tea from a local shop before heading there. Reached the place and stood there in a queue for one hour or a little more than that. It was a very unique experience because as we took a turn towards the temple, I could actually feel the air change. It didn't become light. It had become heavier, instead. As if something was up there hovering over us, protecting us, maybe. Then after a long wait, we got 'Kal Bhairav's darshan'. He had a bright metallic appearance and something in him could make you feel scared of him too. In our culture, it is said that Kal Bhairav, who is another form of Lord Shiva himself, is also the mentor to 'Shani Dev'. The whole story of Kal Bhairav can be easily googled. As they say, if one visits Varanasi, one must take his blessings first and then start one's journey. We tried to do that. It was a good darshan and after our darshan we lost our way back to our shoes. Yes, you heard that right. They ask you to open your shoes before entering the temple premises which includes the area where you queue up for one hour. Ugh! Somehow got back to the place, a shop basically, where we had kept our shoes. Both mother and I were extremely hungry. We headed towards a nearby shop and there we had our breakfast. From there,we went to visit a few more famous temples and came back to our hotel, to rest for sometime. Then at around 4pm, we went to Dasashwamedh Ghat, to watch the Ganga Aarti ; something for which Varanasi is extremely famous for and sought after by many tourists. It was indeed a soul enriching experience. The blowing of the conch shells, the chanting in unison, the lighting of the diyas, sort of unites you with the bigger spiritual presence. It is during 'Ganga Aarti' that one may realize that Varanasi, perhaps, as the legend goes, is indeed located on the trident of Lord Shiva. No I am not exaggerating. Sharing my experience and perspective without hyperboles here. Had our dinner after that and then headed back to our hotel. I slept like a baby only to learn the next morning that mumma could not sleep at all. 

The next morning we were again standing in a queue to have Mahadev's darshan at Kashi Vishwanath temple. Again a long queue but it was worth it. There was no change in the air or whatsoever, like I felt in Kal Bhairav's temple. It was soothing on the other hand. There were many monkeys inside.There were also giant screens on the way, inside the temple which displayed the 'jyotirlinga' to the visitors/tourists waiting in a queue inside and outside the temple. I could see many monks inside, constantly chanting, oblivious to everything else. There were other temples too within the premise of the main temple. Mom sat down to rest for sometime, after getting 'Baba Vishwanath's Darshan', while I ran around to go and visit the other temples. It brought back to my memory my Deogarh visit. It wasn't very different. 

After this we had our lunch and went for a ferry/launch ride which shows you around eighty ghats of Varanasi.  It was so, so beautiful. I live for such experiences and I am grateful to God for the same. Had plans to visit Sarnath as well but it started pouring heavily. Mother and I had no other option than to go back to our hotel. On our way back we bought a few souvenirs for friends and family. Had our dinner at around 8pm. But then we had something more important to fret about. 

Our tickets for the next day weren't confirmed and eventually cancelled at three in the morning. But we boarded the train we were supposed to. Sat in a place we did not want to. Paid a hefty fine and then got two seats inside but the joy was short lived. I started vomiting and I did so six times before finally reaching my hometown station. Obviously it made my mother very anxious and I added to her trouble. I had a very slow recovery and for the next fifteen days, even after school reopened, I lacked energy and later discovered my blood pressure had fallen and was acutely low. Three days later, I was admitted in the hospital for two nights. Had nine bottles of saline. Yes, so if you are planning to go to Varanasi, make sure you are drinking clean, filtered water.

Experience rating : 7.5/10.

Here are some pictures:


















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