Varanasi (also referred to as Benares or Kashi) is an ancient city located at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, considered one of the holiest cities for Hindus in India.
City is home to various small cottage industries, such as silk sari-making. Additionally, its ghats and temples draw tourists.
News about Varanasi
Varanasi (also referred to as Benares and Kashi) is famously home of India’s oldest university: Banaras Hindu University. Additionally, this city is famed for its many private schools that specialize in philosophy, Sanskrit, astrology and religious studies.
Varanasi offers no shortage of dining options, with residents favouring street foods like tikki ke chaat-fried potato cutlets topped with chutneys and yoghurt-or kachori sabzi-fried flaky bread with steamy curries-as a favorite option. In addition, this city is known as an important center for classical Hindustani music and boasts notable philosophers, saints, poets and writers such as Kabir, Munshi Premchand and Pandit Ravi Shankar who have contributed significantly to classical Hindustani music as a center for this art form.
Varanasi, like much of Uttar Pradesh, is poor; yet its residents don’t moan about it. Over 40 percent of Banarasis live below the poverty line and earn less than 50 rupees daily; many make a living cutting wood or by working at cremation ceremonies, where bodies must be laid out before disposal occurs.
News about Ganges
PM Modi will launch the world’s longest river cruise from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel all the way up the Ganges and Dibrugarh in Assam, covering 27 river systems and 50 tourist sites along its course over 51 days.
Varanasi, India’s holiest Hindu city, attracts scores of visitors who wish to perform last rites for loved ones who are about to die. Many believe that by dying in Varanasi they can break free from death and rebirth and attain salvation.
Oil Minister Hardeep Puri announced on Monday that Varanasi would soon see 2000 CNG-powered boats, helping reduce air pollution while increasing boatmen incomes and accessibility for tourists. Puri also inaugurated several inland waterway projects worth Rs 1000 crore such as Haldia multi-modal terminal and four floating community jetties – two initiatives designed to aid tourism.
News about Temples
Varanasi (formerly Benares or Banaras) is located where the Varuna and Assi rivers meet the Ganga, making it one of the centerpoints for Hindu religious teaching and one of Asia’s largest public universities, Banaras Hindu University. Furthermore, this ancient city is famous for its textile industry especially silk fabrics and Ayurvedic medicine treatments.
Attracting many Jains as well, this city features several small temples where locals go for prayers and rituals daily.
The city will play host this year to Temple Connect (India)’s International Temples Convention and Expo (ITCX), an event dedicated to supporting and improving temple ecosystem management, administration and operations. From July 22-24 this convention will welcome over 50 delegates from over 50 nations.
News about Tourism
Varanasi is an internationally revered spiritual center and draws visitors from across India and beyond. Additionally, this city specializes in cremating of the dead; Hindus believe their deceased loved ones attain liberation from births and deaths once cremated here.
Varanasi’s tourist footfall has increased significantly since construction of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and cleaning of Ganga were undertaken, according to sources in UP Government. Furthermore, the launch of cruise facility on Ganga has further helped drive tourism growth in Varanasi.
Shri G Kishan Reddy led the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi. Participants discussed ways to promote SCO brand tourism and cultural heritage of member countries like China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and India at this gathering of eight member and four observer nations that account for 42% of world population and 25% of its total GDP.
