]A craftsman weaves a Benarasi sarion a hand-operated loom in Madanpura, a densely-populated locality in the old part of thecity where many of the traditional weavers have lived for generations and which is an important centre for the trade in Benarasisilk. Benarasi silk brocade, with intricate designs woven in gold and silver thread, is known and prized all over the world

]A boy has fun cleaning his buffalo on the riverbank. Not all ghatsare thronged by tourists and pilgrims; there are a few quieterones to the north of the river that are used by the cowherds to bathe and wash their cattle, while some others are used by dhobisto wash clothes

]Sadhusworship the sun at dawn. Kashi, another name forBenaras, stands for “luminous”. Indeed, early morning,with the rays of the sun spreading across the river andfalling on the many ghats along it, is the best time to see andphotograph the city. For sadhus,“Kashi” carries a deepersignificance, referring to the light that brings moksha

It’s the city Mark Twain famously described as “older than history, olderthan tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of themput together”. Amit Ranjan Rai captures the colours of its teeming life

A DAY IN BENARAS

> A trader at Pan Dariba, one of the largestwholesale markets for betel leaves andpaan ingredients in the country. Thefamous Benarasi paan is made with thesoft, light-green Maghai leaf. Residents ofthe city swear by it and consume it atregular intervals through the day. You willfind most of them carrying a special boxwith small compartments in which theystore the paanand all the ingredients

< Boats ferrying tourists and locals from ghat to ghator across the river are as much afixture of life in Benaras as temples, ashramsand ghats. Like most things in this city,these wooden boats have remained unchanged over the centuries — they look thesame in the sketches James Prinsep made of the city almost 200 years ago. Themallahs, as the boatmen are called, serve as great guides to local sights and culture

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[ An old barber plies his trade at the crowdedDashashwamedh ghat. Popular ghats likeDashashwamedh and Rajendra Prasaddraw large crowds of pilgrims from all overthe country all year. They are abuzz withactivity through the day, providing alivelihood to barbers who shave relatives ofthe dead before they do the last rites,pandaswho help pilgrims with the rituals,chai-wallahs, diya sellers, and so on

]A resident combs his hair sitting in the warm sun after a bath inthe Ganga. A bath in the river is a daily ritual for mostBenaraswallahs. Skeptics and foreign tourists may be repulsedby the idea of a dip in the river — black with sewage, industrialeffluence and the ashes of the dead — but for pilgrims andresidents, the waters of the Ganges are pure and cleansing

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> A young student at a gurukul. Benaras is an important centre for Vediclearning and education. For centuries, young men have come here tolearn the vedasand Hindu scriptures from the city’s great pandits. Thecity is also home to scholars of philosophy, Sanskrit, astrology andAyurveda

]Women sing bhajansas they do pujaat a temple on the busy riverfront. Benaras is oneof the holiest pilgrimages for Hindus and around 1 million devotees visit the citythrough the year believing that they will be freed of sin and attain moksha if they takea dip in the Ganga in Benaras. There are, thus, over 80 bathing ghats along the river,with hundreds of temples, shrines and ashramsbehind them

> A man folds his handsin prayer as he enters atemple near the riverbank. Benaras isknown as “the city oftemples”, with atemple at almost everycrossing. The old city,in particular, is dottedwith temples ofvarious Hindu deities.These have been builtby patrons, charitableorganisations,religious mathsoverthe last 400 years forthe convenience ofpilgrims

] Women cross Malviya Bridge, a landmark structure visible from most places in Benaras. Originally called the DufferinBridge, it was built in 1887 and is one of the important bridges on the Ganga. It is a double decker bridge with rail trackson the lower deck and the Sher Shah Suri Road on the upper deck. Just beyond the bridge lies Rajghat, the oldest part ofthe city where archaeologists have found gold, silver and copper coins dating back to 400 BC to 900AD

] Benaras is a city of very narrow lanes which most outsiders find extremely difficult to negotiate. You can drive a two-wheeler through them, orwalk, but anything wider won’t get in — the cycle cart above, for instance, will have to shoo the cow ahead or push it into the open gate of ahouse in order to get through . These lanes form an intricate network connecting most parts of the city and offer a charming window into aworld where the bovine and the divine exist cheek by jowl

< A paan shop in a bylanein the old city. Note theboy having his chaiandpaan,and his friendpreening at hisreflection in the mirror.The Benarasi paan,made famous byAmitabh Bachchan inDon, and thick brewedtea are much favouredby residents of Benaraswho speak with pride ofthe spirit of “masti”(enjoyment) and“fursat” (leisure)characterising the paceof life in the city

[ A priest doing aartiatthe Dashashwamedhghat. Elaborate ritualsare performed at thisghat every evening bya group of 8-10 priestsstanding atop apedestal, who chantmantrasandpropitiate the riverwith thousands ofdiyasand torches,with bhajansplayingloudly in thebackground. The 40-minute spectacle is amajor draw withtourists and pilgrims

< A boatful of foreigntourists out on anearly-morning rideon the Ganga.Benaras being a cityon the river is bestseen from a boat. Notonly is it the fastestway to see the ghats(at least theimportant ones) butit is also the mostpleasant, since outon the boat, cooledby the light breezeon the river, you’rewell away from themilling crowds anddust on the ghats