5 April 2026
*Day 3* Evening Floating on the Ganga.
हर हर गंगे 🙏🏽🌼🌸
We reached the Ghats of Varanasi by 4 pm excitement building up and looking forward to do the many things planned for the evening.
Our first experience of the Ghat was enough to convince us that of the 88 ghats of which 84 are named could be explored best by floating on the Ganga past them. See how most seniors in our group descended the ghat. I came down the steep steps using the sideways stance to descend.
We were put on to a 50 seater launch. The upper deck was perfectly set with plastic chairs. Every one obeyed instructions and stayed in their seats so the boat was balanced.
Viewing the Ghats of Banaras at dusk is the most popular and touristy thing to do but what an experience! We move on the Ganga at slow speed as the sun goes down as we go from the last Ghat from where we boarded the Namo Ghat. It gets its name from the many Namaste 🙏🏽 art installations on it. But my guess is as good as yours it is actually an acronym for Narendra Modi. This is his constituency and he has done quite good work to modernise this ghat whose old name was Khidkiya ghat. Floating right across Dashashwamedh, Manikarnika, Assi etc. The scenes at Manikarnika are not for the weak hearted. We could watch the funeral pyres burning 🔥 I would have never been able to go from land-side to see it ever !
The scenes of Varanasi the oldest living city that we have seen in so many movies came alive in front of us the tilted mandir, the many gopurs rising above other buildings that give the city its character. The steep steps of the ghats. I wondered aloud how people would be managing daily lives going up and down those steps.
On the return journey the lights had lit the silhouette of the city. The night still not dark enough. Varanasi looked luminous. The historic buildings telling stories of virtuosity, faith and bloodshed too. Our Local tour guide pointed out to a mosque on the top of one ghat and said इसको गिराना है !
We returned in time for the Ganga Aarti at Namo ghat. The archaks were dressed for the performance and looked the part. The Aarti gaan was calming and definitely created a pious ambiance. Even if this is a recent culture it is worth the experience to sit at the ghat and attend the Aarti. Namo ghat being one of the last ghats in Banaras it was less crowded and we enjoyed the experience.
After the Aarti many people floated Diyas and flowers in the Ganga ji. In my opinion as a qualified Environmental Technologist this is a very irresponsible act. I tried telling some people not to do it but I could not stop a crowd 😢
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