Varanasi Travel Guide – Charm amidst Chaos

It’s barely dawn, but the narrow lanes of this city are already in chaos. Men, women, cows, cycle rickshaws, scooters; all try to make their way forward through the alley, which is barely enough for three men to walk abreast. Shopkeepers watch this activity with no interest; they’d be sipping chai, chewing paan or supari and gossiping with their pals. Every year, lakhs of people flock into this city, which is believed to have been discovered by Lord Shiva more than 5000 years ago, to take a dip into the Ganges. They believe that immersion in this sacred river will wash their sins away. This is Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, also known as the ‘city of narrow lanes’ or ‘city of chaos’.

Varanasi is famous for its handloom industry, and I had been there last summer, to research about this industry as a part of my summer internship project. ‘Banarasi Sarees’, which are usually worn by brides in most North Indian weddings, are weaved in the narrow lanes of this city. Rumour has it, that the lehenga worn by Aishwarya Rai in her marriage cost a few lakh rupees and was hand-woven by the workers here. The Banarasi sarees are sold in metropolitan cities for almost ten times the labour wages that is paid to these workers. Since most of the profits from the sales go to the owners or retailers, and the wages for these weavers being less than most other jobs, this profession of handloom weaving is currently on a decline. I came across a few people, who were once handloom weavers, but have now taken up cycle-rickshaw pulling to eke out a living.

A trip to Varanasi is less about jumping from one famous attraction to another, rather it’s about being absorbed into this ancient city and experiencing its culture.
The best time to visit Varanasi is the months of October to March, that’s just after the monsoon and before the beginning of summer.