A Diwali in Varanasi
On 12 November 2023, I spent Diwali in Varanasi. The whole city felt like one long night of celebration. Diwali is perhaps India's biggest festival, a time when people travel back to their homes. In Varansi, that homecoming feels sacred.
My bond with Varanasi began on screen, long before I arrived. Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan (2015) first drew me to the city - its lanes, its ghats, and that unforgettable night when Deepak and Shaalu met at a crowded fair glittering with festive lights.
Years earlier, Satyajit Ray's Joi Baba Felunath (1979) had walked me along the ghats around Dashashwamedh, where Feluda matched wits with Maganlal Meghraj. So when I finally stood on those steps, it felt less like a first visit.
The evening began at Dashashwamedh Ghat, the city's main ghat, near the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Its name recalls the legend of Lord Brahma performing ten horse sacrifices here.
At dusk, the Ganga Aarti began. A row of young priests lifted heavy, many-tiered brass lamps and swung them in slow, synchronised circles to the sound of bells, conch shells and chanted bhajans. It looked almost like a dance with fire.
The aarti is offered every evening in thanks to the river, but on a festival night it feels even more special, and the crowd on the steps watched with utter enthusiasm.
Afterwards, I wandered into the narrow alleys of the old city. Families were lining doorsteps and balconies with clay diyas. In one street, a man sat performing his own puja, unbothered by the passing crowd. Children were everywhere, laughing and running between the lamps with the kind of joy only a festival brings.
The night ended on my hotel’s rooftop. From above, Varanasi stretched out in countless points of light, diyas on every parapet and lamps glowing along the ghats. At that moment, the whole ancient city seemed to be celebrating at once. For one night, I was a part of it.