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Design Resource
Ghats of Varanasi
A Glimpse of Life at the Ghats
by
Prayers
In Varanasi, the day starts with Prayers and Chants at the Ghats. There are number of temples on the banks of Ganga. Most famous of which is ‘Kashi Vishwanath Temple’ dedicated to Lord Shiva. Everyday hundreds of devotees and saints from all over the India and different parts of the world come here. As we walk towards the Kashi Vishwanath temple, one can witness stalls and shops selling ‘Pooja Samagri’, items for prayer required at the temple. Procession passing by and huge crowd bustles to enter the temple.
During evening hours, people make their way towards Ghats for Evening prayer - ‘Ganga Aarti’ which takes place at Dasaswamedh Ghat. As the sun sets, the devotees finish their individual prayers and reach back to Ghats, where stage is being set up for the ‘Ganga Aarti’.
Crowd is gathered on stairs of the Ghats. The whole process, from setting up the stage for evening procession, the final preparations for the prayer ceremony to the Priests performing sacred prayer and ending the prayers with blowing of the conch shell; and at the end people taking blessings from the ‘Aarti’ is simply mesmerizing and worth watching.
