The Holy City of Varanasi - The Practices & Superstitions

Call it Varanasi Kashi or Banaras every name comes down to city of Baba Vishwanath the very own plave of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Varansi is considered one of the oldest city of the world with its religious history and holy practices. For many Indians it is just a pilgrimage however for most of the Indians it is a place of Moksha.
A day in Varanasi starts with pristine calls of Ganga Aarti and ends with the same however in the middle of both the occasions of Ganga Aarti there happens lots of things which sometimes will look funny and sometimes will engage you spiritually. I visited Varanasi for one day and believe me at end of my day I had lot of thinks to cherish and remember for my life.

1) Morning Ganga Aarti

The morning Ganga arti before sunrise, is organized by Subah-e-Banaras. It is an experience that's sure to touch your soul. The unique aspect of this aarti are the group of girls who chant the prayers for the aarti as well as the yagya - unique in that I've never experienced a Hindu prayer session led purely by girls. Their voices ring out in the stillness of the pre dawn sky. Its truly mesmerizing to see the aarti being done even as the sun rises slowly and lazily from the east. The aarti is followed by a musical rendition by the artist of the day.




2) A Marriage for a Cause
As soon as I was finished with Ganga Aarti, somebody rumored about a grand wedding which was about to happen on the same day. The best part of the marriage was that the whole Varanasi was invited for it. Curious to find more about the same I started to walk towards the place where marriage was suppose to happen and I was surprised to see the excitement and urgency of the people who were walking more than faster to visit the marriage function.

This marriage was definitely not a normal one as two frogs were getting married. This is a ritual which is practiced every year in month of April and May. People of Varanasi believe that this marriage makes the rain Gods happier and the city will have a very good monsoon.

Can you believe, Wedding of Frogs would be responsible for heavy rainfall! The Foolish Indians

3) Mukti Bhavan
It is believed that if you die in Varanasi you will straight go to heaven and for that matter it has become a trend in the entire country that people when they feel that they are gonna die, they come to Varanasi and start living in Mukti Bhavan. Mukti Bhavan is nothing but a big house with around 20 rooms and a couple of care takers. The most funny part of this place is that if you do not die in 2 weeks of stay there you are asked to leave the place for next person in line waiting for his turn to go to heaven. Does that sound funny??? I think it is again a practice that The Foolish Indians follow.

4) Dom Raja of Varanasi

It is believed that if you die in Varanasi you will straight go to heaven, but the story do not ends here. The funeral also had to be special and it has to be done by a special person who knows the trick and mantras. Dom Raja is the expert funeral organizer and mantra reader who ensures that the dead person is going to heaven. It is said that Raja Harish Chandra when lost his empire and wealth, worked in Varanasi as Funeral maker and did arranged and did funeral activities for years.
On one single day one Dom Raja do 100s of funerals and it is not a easy job. To avoid the smell of dead bodies Dom Raja had to take at least 4-5 bottles of whisky every day and while doing the funerals these Dom Raja is always on high, can you believe this? How can a man high on alcohol can ensure your way to heaven? But this is all happening in Varanasi.

Some people believe on these superstitions and some just ignore but definitely this city has its heritage and culture of its own which is unchangeable. Will the people here ever come out of these practices and start looking forward to modern India...

The Foolish Indian will continue to show case such foolish things in and around the country.