My parents and I had planned a day trip to Banaras during the Dussehra vacation. It started with some unexpected sightseeing, enroute the central railway station in the new and better version of Vande Bharat (from Patna to Banaras), when we happened to witness the newly built Namo Ghat inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi over the vast River Ganga (known by many of us as Gangaji). We plonked our luggage at the hotel and immediately went to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple which had a long serpentine queue filled with devotees. The deity was a small black shrine, decorated with loads of flowers and sandalwood paste, known to be the symbol of Lord Shiva. We had a very light lunch at a small restaurant which served classic Indian food and then we went sight-seeing around. Hey, but wait, was that sight-seeing or ….street food seeing……?
The first of our findings was Banarasi Lassi, a sweet thick curd that can be had plain or with some flavours. It was melting in your mouth and there was malai (thick cream) on top for the cherry on the cake. After that, we found some Rabadi, which is a thin, sweet condensed-milk which is flavoured and has many thick lumps in it. We went shopping a bit for my mom for Banaras silk sarees which is what Banaras is also famous for and then headed back to the hotel to rest.
In the evening, we went on a boat ride starting from Dashashwamedh Ghat to see all the 108 Ghats that are there in Banaras. We were accompanied by a tourist guide who explained to us the historical significance of each ‘Ghat’ (small set of steps leading to the river). The night sky was lit up by all the decorations around the place. With the festive celebrations all around, from the river we could see many firecrackers. In one of the ghats, there was a traditional festivity called ‘Ganga Aarti’ followed with huge chants by priests with co-ordinated movements. It is known to be extremely sacred to take a holy dip in the Ganges.
For dinner, we ended the day on a high note by having the iconic and sought-after meal of Kachori and sabzi followed by sweet Jalebi.
It was indeed a sweet and memorable day trip for me and my parents.
January, 2026
