“Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend. And looks twice as old as all of them put together” – Mark Twain

After the Holi Festival in Kolkata, we took a night train to Varanasi/Benares, the holy city of India.

It is India in all its splendor and all its misery, India you will love and India you will hate…The city is on the banks of the Ganges, the famous river which is said to wash away all your sins.

At sunrise, it is a beautiful spot, with all the Hindu pilgrims praying and washing themselves on the bathing ghats. At dusk also, hundreds of flower candles are floating down the Ganga River in a procession of colorful and spiritual lights…

But Varanasi can also be overwhelming, as a heart beating too fast… The Hindu rituals of cremation are taking place on the burning ghats, and it is not a sight for faint-hearted.

Varanasi is one of the few places in the world where this experience of life and death is sure to absorb you…