Kashi Vishwanath And Weavers Of Banaras

Banaras, the timeless city, which is the abode of Kashi Vishwanath, Vishalakshi and Annapurna , is an amazing place. A must see place for all. Recently we had the good fortune of visiting this holy city. Contrary to our expectations and as described by the locals, there has been a huge transformation to the city. In place of labrynthus , narrow lanes leading to the temple once upon a time, you see that the temple is given a royal entry from the main road, now. The outside of the temple has undergone renovation and sanctum sanctorum has been carefully restored. All in all, the temple got a splendid look befitting its legacy and importance.

We went round the other temples of the city including Sankat mochan Hanuman Temple and Kalbhairava Temple and went early in the evening to witness the famous Ganga arti from close quarters sitting on a boat. Though to begin with it appeared as an ordinary event, as it progressed and gained momentum, the atmosphere was fully charged and the involvement of entire gathering was so intense that the event in itself assumed significance and culminated into an extraordinary event which will be etched in our minds for a long time. I realized that the collective prayers of the people gathered there , for their near and dear and also for the society at large, created a palpable intense energy which could be experienced by all.

To our amazement, though the crowd was considerably huge, it was well behaved and there was no untoward incidents.

Another place one must visit in the trip to Banaras is the Buddhist Pilgrimage of Sarnath . the four lion pillar here is adapted as national Emblem of India, a representative seal of Government of India, symbolizing power, courage, confidence and pride. We had the good fortune of going round the famous and historic Kashi Vishwavidyalaya or the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The Driver of the car reeled out the history of the place , how Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was given the Land by the then Maharaja of Kashi, who promised to give the extent of land that could be covered by walk by the Panditji from day break till sunset! Later Malaviyaji procured resources to establish the university.

The people we met were upbeat and happy with the changes brought about in the city and were proud of their city. They were enthusiastically narrating how the life in the city has improved and is much safer and secure. During the day the streets were packed with devotees. It appeared as though the traffic had no control. Upon careful observation one could notice that in the midst of chaos there was order and peace.

The final part of our tour was very interesting, particularly considering that we were three women in the group. We witnessed an amazing display of handwoven silk Banarsi sarees! Two eyes were not enough to behold the beautiful sarees. 

We were exhausted but the stock wouldn’t exhaust! The men, who we came to know were weavers themselves, were proudly showing away the sarees one after another, each an exquisite piece of art in itself. Apparently some of the sarees took close to 45 to 60 days to weave. Their eyes were filled with pride in their workmanship, a hope that our purchases would be abundant and fear that we may not buy. For us it became difficult not to buy as we did not wish to disappoint them. We did good shopping but not without disappointing some of the weavers. If only we had enough resources to bring happiness to the eyes of all weavers. Praying that Kashi Vishwanath will not let their hopes go unfulfilled and protect them always, we returned with heavy hearts. Shopping was never so painful!