Aimless in Banaras: Wanderings in India's Holiest City

by Bishwanath Ghosh

This is a sensation I have never known before: bodies burning outside, wood from the pyres burning inside, the bottles of whisky placed near the lingam, the ear-shattering rattle of the damrus, the bells clanging, and yet the calm on the faces of devotees. At the Vishwanath Temple, the lingam of Shiva is worshipped, but it is here that his spirit is felt—with such great force.