Varanasi: The Sunshine and the Rain

Well, it has been an overwhelming experience of all sorts till now as we have all tried to adopt to the change that has occurred in our lives since we have stepped foot in this city. Most importantly, other than all those daily academic chores, that never-ending loophole of classes and farji ka assignments comes days and nights like the one we had today morning. By all means, the sunshine at Assi Ghat had an aura of its own. One of the better lessons, I learnt coming down here is sudden plans, plans that do not need any planning are the ones that are executed most often with perfection. It happened recently once on the 26th of September with a car trip to Lakhanya Dari and now the whole night plan of staying back at the ghat, waiting patiently till the Aarti happens, watching how the entire process of the Aarti precedes,the mere perfection with which it is carried out, the dedication of all those involved, the fire, the water and all the feelings of submission to the almighty comes as one. The entire setup takes approximately 45 minutes. The color orange obviously has the most dominating effect in the entire process. The chairs are aligned, the stairs leading towards the river are kept cleaned with minimal intervention of people. As the announcement begins, those students of the almighty, they prepare themselves for what is the next most pious 40 minutes of your day. The rise up, they lift your spirit, they synchronise their work, they synchronise the elements of the earth and they pray to the Ganges. They pray to the rising sun and the dawn is given the most beautiful a welcome possible.

The color of that dark sky, it slowly fades away, with each passing moments, it becomes clearer. It becomes clearer as your mind is fixed upon the sunshine. There are hundreds of cameras at work, trying to freeze time, trying to freeze the moments that people come to see only at this place, in this city of Varanasi. As we look up the sky and the red light of the ferry which has stayed still almost all night long slowly begins to fade. The boats have again regained back its life, among all the hustle and bustle, slowly as the Aarti progresses towards the end, everyone waits with utmost patience for the Sun to come out of the horizon. That orange hue with a darker grey portion slowly rises up. The orange intensifies, the East beckons all the  emotions, and as people fix their eyes upon the ball of fire coming out of the horizon, the color in the water changes. The reflection deepens on the water, and when there is absolutely no ripples in the water, there is no shaking of the reflection. It feels good to see how nature aligns all the things that seem to be impossible to be aligned in reality and so as the sun finally shines with its full glow, it is one of the most beautiful things that the eyes can capture. People smile, people talk, they click pictures for social media and here the sun glimpses its smile on the heart of the Ganges and on the city of Varanasi!:)