Author: Kunal Sinha
Publisher: Srishti
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 276
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8188575240
Description
Varanasi is, quite simply, Hinduism's holiest, and one of the world's oldest living cities. For centuries, travelers have written about the experience of being swept away by the religious fervour that it has inspired. It is an entirely different perspective that Varanasi born and bred author, Kunal Sinha, brings to this book. It is a view from within, detailed in observation, sweeping in scale and evocatively Banarasi. Going beyond the usual tourist trail, the author takes the reader through a rich visual and verbal experience that only an insider could possibly provide.
REVIEWS
Acclaim for Kunal Sinha's An Ordinary Traveller
Flashes of vivid imagery that startle you with their intensity.
-India Today
Refreshing for the author's candour…eclectic taste in destinations.
-Business World
We are all familiar with that peaceful, easy feeling that accompanies a holiday away somewhere, and you sense it in the book, even as it progresses from mountains to plains…endearing.
-First City
Contents
PROLOGUE
Older than Antiquity: The History of Varanasi
What's in a Name? Etymology and Orientation
Making Sense Out of the Maze: Geography
Varanasi Mapped
The Famous Galis of Varanasi
Spirituality and Religion: Varanasi's Temples
Shiva
Devi
The Protectors
Significant Pilgrimages in Varanasi
Mediators and Enablers: The Pandas of Varanasi
Sadhus and Cults
Sarnath
Life and Death on a River: The Ganga and her Ghats
The Ghats, their history and significance
Swatchcha Ganga Abhiyan
Scholarship in Varanasi: From universities to Gurus
Banaras Hindu University: The Beginnings and today Kashi Vidyapeeth
Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya
Krishnamurthy Foundation
Jnana Pravaha
The Great Scholars of Varanasi
Culture and Folklore: Daily and Seasonal Life
The Banaras Gharana and its Exponents
Folk Songs of Varanasi
The Akhadas and Pahalwans of Varanasi
On Widows
Twelve Months, Thirteen Festivals
The Ramlilas of Varanasi
Craftsmanship, Commerce and Culinary Affairs
Tana-Bana: The Banarasi saree
Celebration for the Taste Buds
Epilogue
If I Were a Visitor
Glossary
Bibliography
Index