In Kashi, it’s picture perfect serenity again after Mahashivratri rush
From dawn, the famed Subah-e-Banaras wove a pattern of tranquility as the Ganga flowed quietly while visitors and locals kept their tryst with the ghats and the lanes were back to their languid pace.
Kashi was back to its usual serene rhythm on Friday after about 45 days during which it witnessed mammoth crowds due to the Mahakumbh spillover from Prayagraj.
From dawn, the famed Subah-e-Banaras wove a pattern of tranquility as the Ganga flowed quietly while visitors and locals kept their tryst with the ghats and the lanes were back to their languid pace.
Tourists walked from one ghat to the other, many sat at the stairs. Boats with foreign as well as domestic tourists onboard plied on the Ganga. A few people could bee seen doing yoga at a ghat while a foreigner meditated.
Vandana Roy, a resident of Darjeeling in West Bengal, said the ghats were too crowded on Thursday, the day she reached Varanasi.
But on Friday, she found space on the stairs at Prabhu Ghat, she said.
“To me, being in Varanasi means spending time while sitting at ghats and watching the Ganga,” Roy said.
She added that she and her friend Priti K Mondal spent a lot of time at the ghats. At Niranjani Ghat, a group of foreigners was seen clicking pictures.
Ganga aarti, which was performed only symbolically for about 16 days, restarted on Thursday in its traditional form.
“The Maa Ganga Aarti, which is organised by Ganga Seva Nidhi at Dashashwamedh Ghat daily, was held in its traditional form on Thursday after 16 days due to the reverse flow of the Maha Kumbh,” said Sushant Mishra, president of the Ganga Seva Nidhi. Seven priests performed the aarti.
Prem Mishra of Varanasi Vyapar Samiti said the dip in footfall has given much needed relief to the old city areas which witnessed huge crowds for over a month and a half. But since Thursday, the crowd decreased considerably bringing relief to the people, he said.
Rajkumar Das, another resident of Kashi, said the route diversion and several other steps were taken for crowd management due to which people faced severe inconvenience, but now that the crowd has reduced to normal, the residents have heaved a sigh of relief.
Varanasi had been crowded for 45 days since the start of the Mahakumbh. On average, seven lakh pilgrims visited the city daily and on several occasions, the figure exceeded 10 lakhs in a single day, resulting in lanes and ghats being packed beyond their capacity.
