Varanasi - The Eternal.

Kya hai yeh Kashi? Prem bhi. Mukti bhi. Moksha bhi. Jeevan bhi.
Aur shayad… jo sab kuch chheen leta hai, wohi sab kuch de bhi deta hai, Kashi.
Tum saari zindagi bita doge samajhne mein ki Banaras kya hai… aur ek din Banaras khud tumhe bula lega ye samjhane ke liye ki Banaras kya hai.
Manifested it so hard that Kashi answered, right at the start of the year.
While planning the trip, I didn’t realise my dates were falling on Makar Sankranti, until later. But maybe Kashi already knew. Main bas ticket book kar raha tha… aur Kashi tayari kar rahi thi.
I still remember the day I booked the tickets; there were tears in my eyes. It’s true, you don’t simply go to Kashi. You arrive when Mahadev permits it.
Kashi toh Avinashi hai, where life and death dance together.
2024 and 2025 were personally very challenging, and Varanasi gave me clarity; quietly freeing me from my illusions. A liberating experience altogether.
First took the blessings of Kaal Bhairav, Kotwal of Kashi. Wahan khade hoke laga samay dekh raha hai. The energy was unmatched: not fear, but steadiness… as if the city wasn’t moving through time; time was moving through the city.
Ajab baat hai… Banaras mein jawab log nahi dete; Banaras de deta hai.
When you stand in front of Vishwanath, you surrender. You forget your wishes, your needs, your wants. You only remember your smallness, and strangely, that feels like freedom. You end up feeling grateful, with the joy of meeting him and simply being in that sanctum sanctorum. Bas milne ka sukoon.
And then there’s Manikarnika, quiet, honest, unshakeable. It doesn’t scare you. It steadies you. It teaches you softly but firmly: tan mitti hai… and if you lived honestly, you didn’t live in vain. Wahan samajh aata hai, mrityu ant nahi… ek sachchai hai.
Then the Ganga - the eternal mother. The Ganga Aarti. Serene. Beautiful. A treat for one’s soul. The aarti begins with conches, like the river is being awakened. Bells, chants, fire; everything moving in rhythm. Camphor dissolves into the air the way doubts dissolve inside you. And for a few minutes, your mind finally learns to be quiet. Ganga ke saamne ego bhi dheere bolta hai.
The lyrics of Har Har Gange by Arijit Singh didn’t feel like lyrics anymore. They felt like a sentence Banaras had been trying to teach me:
“Jo paas tere wahi tera, baaki sab moh ka phera…Tu Kyu samajh na paaya, tan mitti hai, mann maaya.”
We own nothing in this world.
There was peace in knowing that whatever I did till date, I showed up with love and honesty. Even when I was misunderstood. Even when my efforts went unseen. I know where it came from; straight from the heart. And my soul knows it was real. Baaki sab toh duniya ka hisaab hai… andar wala hisaab saaf hai.
It made me realize that the roots of our country are so deep, that I fell in love with them once again. I didn’t feel like I was visiting Varanasi, I felt like I was returning. Like a child belongs to its mother without needing a reason, I felt I belonged to this city.
There are very few places I have fallen in love with, with all of my heart, and Varanasi, a city as eternal as time, gave me something I was seeking.
I did not want to leave Kashi. I sat at the airport, right before the check-in counter, till 7:45 pm, my flight was at 9:00 pm. I felt like Varanasi wanted me to stay. With tears in my eyes, I finally got up, checked in my luggage, and walked towards my gate.
Ab ghar waapas jaana padega. Aakhir Banaras mein zindagi bhar toh nahi reh sakte.
28 trains stop at Kashi, and 64 trains do not stop. Yahaan aana aasan hai… lekin jaana bahut mushkil.

I left Kashi… but Kashi didn’t leave me.
I hope, one day, Banaras calls me - to live there.

Till then,
!! OM NAMAH PARVATI PATAYE, HAR HAR MAHADEV !!