I was born and brought up in sacred town of Kashi, extended version of it also known as Benaras, now Varanasi. It is located on the confluence of two rivers one big, the Ganges the most sacred, and the other smaller, Varuna. At a short distance from there is Sarnath, the ancient center of Buddhist learning, prayer, and meditation, an attraction for the world. Dufferin Bridge, as then called, on Kashi Railway Station was there only for trains and pedestrian. A beautiful thing to look at with a lot of water running fast below clear sky above, a very serene atmosphere if the train is not there. As you stand on the bridge in the middle you see on the right tall buildings appearing as if they were all built on water so close, so firm and so lasting. On the left was open space having a beauty of its own. It was the small princely state of Raja of Banaras, a patron of cricket. Beyond, at some distance on the left was the Railway junction, Moghal Sarai, which somehow we considered by us to be the largest in the country.
Down below in the river was a pontoon bridge for cattle goods and slow-moving vehicles. None was impressed by its existence or the service it renders. Long afterward I read a book in Urdu Gernaily Sarak by Reza Ali Abidi, a prolific writer, wherein I found the narration that when Alexander, the conqueror, reached Indus river none could solve the problem as to how to arrange the crossing of the Indus by the army with all its resources and appendages. Someone suggested the Banaras device of a Pontoon Bridge. Under orders, a group of those engaged in the establishment, maintenance and upkeep of it were brought to the Indus location, settled there. They performed their task well. What surprised me more was that, according to the narration, they continued to use and observe in their localized group the language and culture of Eastern UP from where they had come. Then my interest in the bridge was to place a coin on the railway track before the train passed and to pick it in an unforeseen shape after the train had passed. Another, on some of the wagons of goods train, was written very boldly “Not to be loosely shunted – Highly Inflammable”. All my life I used the term not be loosely shunted for people of unpredictable high temperament.
Looking back from the same position on the bridge there was a desolate beauty known as “Qila” (fort). Some structural monuments of the Moghal period were in debris still there. Later, our Theosophical School was shifted to within that very fort area and I found it to be the best school campus in the world. There were peacocks roaming all around, very high trees of tamarind and stone fruit which demanded accurate stone hit at a great height to bring them down. What a great success it was. I have been looking all along for the identity and botanical name of a bush called locally Ghumchi. It bore very small berry sparkling red with a black tip said to be used for measuring gold, its smallest unit.
Immediately on Independence what India did was to allocate space in Delhi to all the provinces for putting up their showpieces in art, culture, products and much more. So one could feel and see the whole of India in one place. The second item was Rest and Recreation leave available both in India and Pakistan to government servants who could visit with the family at government cost any place in the country. It promoted understanding, integration and extensive infrastructure sound and dependable for domestic tourism for up to Middle class. The third was the remarkable austerity and simplicity observed at all levels for forty years or more, a sacrifice one or two generations made for posterity. The fourth, the emergence slowly and steadily of a modern India.
I saw on the internet all the palaces which were turned into top class hotels, mostly for the foreign tourist. These are indeed the best example of showing Indian history with its cultural diversity, glamour and lifestyle. The fifth was the establishment of real centers of excellence and adding to them, as the need arose. Sixth, running of a prestigious train showing entire India in one week in royal fashion. Seventh the growth of a strong a very strong film industry. The films touch all the social problems with extraordinary frankness, independence and ruthlessness and repeating them making such a large country aware of the problems and the challenges. Eighth, encouraging, promoting and strengthening civil Society movements like Chipko Movement of the ladies, Shershah Marg Movement, the continued effort to eliminate from market a foreign soft drink, the sustained movement against corruption, now against the bulletproof toilet of a Chief Minister, spending one hundred seventy million rupees on the marriage of his daughter by an ex-minister. Finally, the largest democracy, no other democracy coming closer to its number, holding on time all the elections and census in a credible fashion.
Reproduced from Wikipedia page on Varanasi.
A major religious hub in India, it is the holiest of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism
Apart from the 19 archaeological sites identified by the Archaeological Survey of India,[98] some of the prominent places of interest are the Aghor Peeth, the Alamgir Mosque, the Ashoka Pillar, the Bharat Kala Bhavan (Art Museum), the Bharat Mata Mandir, the Central University for Tibetan Studies, the Dhanvantari Temple, the Durga Temple, the Jantar Mantar, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, the New Vishwanath Temple on the BHU campus, the Ramnagar Fort, the Riverfront Ghats, the Tulsi Manas Temple.
Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College, which later became a foundation for the creation of Banaras Hindu University in 1916. Besant founded the college because she wanted “to bring men of all religions together under the ideal of brotherhood in order to promote Indian cultural values and to remove ill-will among different sections of the Indian population.
Author Mark Twain wrote in 1897 of Varanasi, “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.”
Another oldest: The oldest court case of the subcontinent happens to be of Banaras. Doshipura case between Shias and Sunnis started in 1878 reaching Supreme Court in 1981 and the order of the Supreme Court not being obeyed by UP Govt for the last over thirty years on the ground that it will cause law and Order situation. The dispute is between Shias and Sunnis for two acres of land.
The Hunting Opportunities
In our extended family, one or two persons were fond of hunting. On every weekend on a cycle, they would go for hunting within 15 miles of Benaras and return with meat load of a deer or nilgai (‘blue cow’) by midnight. No refrigerators being in use then, the meat was generously distributed and quickly consumed. As these animals caused great damage to the standing crops, such hunting was welcomed by the local farmers. Things started changing after India became Independent.
Change in India after 1942.
The other picture of India appeared to me threatening. After 1942 in particular, communal riots used to take place every year or two. The day it started there were all night war cries on one side of the road from the Muslims and from the other side of the road from non-Muslims. As the night advanced, in sleep, they appeared to be louder and more threatening. Another feature was that a Police picket was posted on our Wakf property which was lying vacant most of the time. The food was provided by the ladies in the next building in which they had been given life interest of residence with a monthly allowance. The picket comprised usually six, sometimes ten, always led by an ASI (Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police). The upshot of their discussion was that the police department intelligence did not go beyond and above that of the ASI. Surprisingly in my service experience, I found it to be substantially true. I have mentioned each such experience at the appropriate place. The example that they gave was that a very high police officer gave the order that a gang of criminals would be entering their jurisdiction to stop them. The ASI did not want to arrest them so he gave the direction in Urdu “roko mat jane do”. Orally he passed on this information. The criminals went away unchecked. On inquiry, he took the defense that if you put a comma after the first word it will mean stop them. If you put the comma after first two words it will mean “Don’t stop them”. After a long inquiry, he was given benefit of doubt and excused.
The one horrifying experience that I had was returning from home I dropped at the Railway Station Prayag very close to the University and its hostels. I found it deserted. I was informed that there was a curfew in the city. It was 10 pm. I had a few choices, all very dangerous. I decided to walk through the curfew. With a heavy baggage on my head, I walked over half a mile to reach the hostel, the entire passage fearfully deserted.
Such experiences, and more coming my way, I decided to leave the country.
Experiences of a Lifetime 