Journey is more beautiful than destination
My pursuit of my Achan’s dream – the 11th trip – Sep 2018
My pursuit of my Achan’s dream – the 11th trip – Sep 2018
Banaras, Kashi or Varanasi is a holy city which is timeless in a curious way. This city dares you to look beyond the obvious and helps you discover its true charm. The mornings in Banaras are so peaceful and wakes up by offering prayers (Ganga Aarti) to the holy river My mother had accompanied me for this short weekend trip and we explored narrow winding lanes of Banaras called Galis lined with quaint shops & spicy eateries. We received Impromptu lectures from local people around us about the food, culture and philosophy of the city which felt heart-warming.
The interesting part of our journey was the auto ride with Rama Chacha who made us fall in love with the city where he was born. His stories about ghats resonated with multiple facets of life. Ghats are not just stepping stones which lead to Ganga river but are the epicentre of all the activities including Ganga Aarti both evening and morning ones. He made sure we had the famous Khulad Chai (Tea in earthen vessel), street food and Banarasi Paan (Betel leaf concoction). His jokes about narrow galis and street food kept us entertained throughout the entire journey. I was impressed the knowledge he had about Buddhism and Sanskrit slokas. The city of temples had created a special place in our heart by now including the boat tours around the ghats.
We realised that our journey of exploring the city of temples was more beautiful than destination. My take away from Achan’s favourite city.
Have you experienced any journey which was more beautiful than the destination?