From the July 2015 Issue of Hinduism Today

Enjoy this slideshow from this Issue's feature article

Varanasi: Oldest And Holiest City of Siva

In 2014, reporter Rajiv Malik and photographer Arun Mishra spent two weeks in the famed city of Varanasi interviewing residents, visiting the temples and exploring the ghats. In this slide show we share some of the images from that visit.

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Panorama of Varanasi\

s famed river ghats '

Each year the city hosts a famous music concert

One of the city\

s more modern temples '

boatman on the Ganga

Evening worship of the river

Blowing the conch at the evening worship

Incense offering to Ganga

The gold covered spires of Kashi Vishwanath temple with Gyanvapi Mosque in the background

The inner city abounds in shops selling religious items

The famed Baranas saris on sale

view along the ghats

more ghats--they stretch five kilometers along the river

Kashi Vishwanath temple on the grounds of Banaras Hindu University

Ghats in the morning

Copper pot shop

There are hundreds of places which similarly display vast numbers of Siva Lingams.

All manner of malas for sale.

One of the city\

s many Sanskrit gurukulams'

At this girl\

s school the students learn martial arts and self defense.'

The burning ghats

betel leaf vendor

hot milk vendor

Group of tourists on the ghats

A body arrives for cremation at the burning ghat

A member of the Dom clan who handle all the cremations at the ghats

The family prepares the funeral pyre, here putting on sandlewood powder

Boat tours are popular along the ghats

One of the famed food stalls

The Puka Mahal, the inner city, this is a typical narrow lane

Fresh puris for sale

Hot buttermilk

It is common to encounter a body on the way to the ghats

Wood supply for the cremation pyres

Manikarnika ghat, most famous of them all

The city\

s bustling flower and vegetable market'

A street sign

Meditators along the ghats in the early morning.

A sadhu reads from the Ramayana

Manikarnika Ghat

Mukti Bhavan, where people come to die

roadside food stall

Resident of an old folk\

s home'

also a resident of the old folk\

s home--many of whom are women'

meal time at one old folk\

s home'

Annapurana trust old folk\

s home entrance'

An evening spectacle along the ghats

Manikarnika ghat at night

Gyanvapi Mosque showing the original Kashi Vishwanath temple walls.

Evening worship along the river

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