Varanasi/ Banaras
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Cuisine/ eating out
Mohalla Assi: Pappu’s tea shop
Amarnath Tewary, At Pappu’s, a cup of tea and a platter of politics, March 14, 2017: The Hindu
The shop in Varanasi is home to lively debate and is a stepping stone to many political careers
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have taken the political route to become an “adopted son” of Varanasi and Uttar Pradesh, but a “son of the soil” plays host to politics every day here, nurturing debate and discussion, careers and critics. While his given name — Vishwanath Singh — will evoke little recognition, just a mention of his popular nickname “Pappu” elicits instant recall: “ Oh, Assi ka Pappu, chai dukan ? [you mean Pappu of Assi, the tea shop?].”
Pappu’s tea shop has no sign board, nor proper tables and chairs — a yellow tungsten bulb hangs from a soot-layered wire. But old-timers will tell you that veteran socialist leader George Fernandes held a press conference for two hours at the tea shop over four cups of lemon tea when V.P. Singh was the Prime Minister. BJP leaders Kalraj Mishra and Sambit Patra too are patrons and more recently, the entire crew of a popular Bollywood film, Mohalla Assi , were sipping tea at Pappu’s.
Rumour has it that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to file his nomination papers from Varanasi in 2014, Pappu’s name was suggested as a proposer.
Politicians apart, many eminent Hindi writers and litterateurs, mostly from Benaras Hindu University, which is nearly two km from the shop, have been regular visitors. For local politicians and student leaders, Pappu’s tea shop is an important step in their careers. Hours are spent over a cup of lemon or milk tea, discussing politics.
Standing room only
The room itself boasts just two wooden benches by formica-topped tables. Two more benches stand outside on the road. Regular visitors matter-of-factly squeeze themselves on the benches and get engaged in political debate. Some wait for hours for a chance to sit while others stand around.
Noted Hindi writer Kashinath Singh’s popular novel Kashi ka Assi is based on the everyday political discourse at Pappu’s. “Kashinath Singh, along with other great Hindi writers like Balraj Pandey and Chowkiram Yadav, has been regular visitors at my shop…” 67-year-old Vishwanath Singh ‘Pappu’ told The Hindu on Sunday morning, a day after the Assembly poll result.
Staunch supporter
“I graduated in politics listening to their everyday discussion and debate … I’ve been enjoying it and never mind their long sitting at the shop over just a cup of tea,” added Mr. Singh.
“I’ve been voting for the BJP when it was the Jan Sangh in 1967 … ideologically I’ve been closer to the BJP much before Narendra Modi came on the mainstream political scene,” he said. In 2012, Mr. Modi’s flagship “Chai pe Charcha” television show held at this tea shop was one of the most popular.
An addiction
“The regular visitors even knock at my door at Lanka (locality where he lives with his large family) when for some reason or other the shop has to be closed…it has become addiction for them,” Mr Singh said .
The shop opens at 6 in the morning and stays open till 11 p.m. with a four hour break from 1 to 5 in the afternoon.
Pappu took over the shop from his father Baldeo Singh in 1975. Baldeo Singh had started it in 1948. “At my time the rent of my shop was only Rs. 16, now it has gone up to Rs. 300 a month,” Mr. Singh said.
Failing health
With arthritis now allowing him only a few hours at the shop everyday, Pappu’s son Manoj Singh now manages the shop. His three brothers have moved into other business interests.
“For 38 years I sat in the shop, made it popular but now arthritis has forced me to come at the shop only for two hours in the evening…yes, basically to enjoy political discussions,” he said. “It has become a habit.” As it has for hundreds of others, for whom “politics can be learnt and taught, discussed and debated only at Pappu’s chai ki dukan .
Traditional food
Avijit Ghosh, Varanasi appeals to stomach & soul, Mar 19, 2017: The Times of India
Spirituality can wait. For foodies, a gastronomic trip through the gallis of Varanasi gets top billing
Every year Varanasi plays host to thousands of tourists hoping to discover their spiritual side.
That has been the temple town's calling card and commerce. But foodies will vouch for its gastronomic delights, waiting to be discovered in its crowded streets and bylanes.Many famous hawkers appear with their pushcarts in the evening. Some don't even have a signboard. But their offerings are addictive and available at a price that would buy you only a snigger in a city like Delhi.
In their own way , the streetside hawkers of Varanasi are everyday artistes in the business of producing and peddling pleasure. You might get that kind of feeling wolfing down Lalman's golgappas, sold from a handcart in a bylane near Lahurabir Chowk. What makes them irresistible isn't just the tangy tamarind water but the filling, a slushy mix of chickpea, boiled potato and spices. He also serves a sweet version of the snack that feels almost like a dessert.
Like most golgappa sellers in the city , the stuff Lalman serves is customised to the amount of spicy heat your tastebuds can handle. Varanasi is a city of paan eaters. A long-lasting love affair with the paan makes a tongue hypersensitive to spice. This is primarily due to the use of chuna (lime), an essential ingredient for paan; hence the adjustment.
There are several other artistes of the palate across the city, which is also PM Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency . One of the go-to places for breakfast is the late Chhanni Devi's, who sold puri-sabzi and jalebis from a rundown shop in Lanka area, near BHU. Popularly known as “Chachi“, she would shower abuse on customers asking her to hurry up; the customers, in turn, were addicted to her rantings. Among the celebrities who graced the shop was superstar Rajesh Khanna. The sabzi served with the puri is made of pumpkin, potatoes and black gram.There is a rhythm with which her son Kailash Yadav flattens and shapes the dough before it is deep-fried, twice. The shop opens at 3.30am. “We start serving jalebis by 5am and puri-sabzi by 6. By 11.30am, we are through,“ he says. A plate of four puris and sabzi costs Rs 24.
Adjacent to it are three shops selling lassi, all run by sons of Panna Sardar who ran the legendary original Pehalwan lassi. This is the third generation in the business. Lassis, with a dash of malai and saffron on top, are sold in clay cups.Some are so thick you almost need to chew on them.
It's all part of the city's living heritage, created and consumed every day.Places like these have created a popular expression called `Lanketing', going specifically to Lanka for snacks.
Then there's Pappu's, the legendary tea stall in Assi mohalla that serves milk and lemon tea. The political gyan is free. The lemon tea here is flavoured with Hajmola, giving it a distinct whiff of heeng (asafoetida).
Near Lahurabir Chowk stands Jwala Prasad's pushcart selling rasedar pakoras made of gram flour (besan), spinach and spices. The three are kneaded into a ball, deep-fried and dipped in a fiery curry . It's served with a sprinkling of sohal, a salty savoury .The pakoras have two variations: sada and rangeen. The rangeen version is stuffed with bhang.
At Chetganj, Umashankar Sahu's family has been selling kachoris for three generations. As a peddler, he has the smallest of stands where he keeps the kachoris, a little larger than a Rs 10 coin, garnished with shredded radish and carrot, and served with tamarind chutney .
Varanasi is also famous for its sweets to which the city's Bengalis have also made a singular contribution. There are shops with signs of desi and Bengali mithai. Some shops around Pucca Mohal area along the ghats, sell their mithai only between 7pm and 2am. On offer are suggestively named sweets such as Palangtod (bed-breaker) and Malaipuri.
The iconic Kashi and Deena Chat Bhandars at Godowlia Chowk are more established joints. Crowds throng Deena for a taste of their tamatar chaat, a rather unique snack which uses tomatoes ingeniously . In the winter, chura matar, dripping with desi ghee, is the rage.
Food is an inseparable part of Varanasi. So why isn't it part of the central narrative of the holy city? Is it because it is primarily a business of Yadavs and Banias, who don't figure high in the city's intellectual story? There is no simple answer.
Modernisation
2018: taking cables underground
Rajeev Dikshit, March 25, 2018: The Times of India
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From: Rajeev Dikshit, March 25, 2018: The Times of India
Highlights
Former Union minister of state for power and coal Piyush Goyal announced the Rs 432-crore project for underground cabling work under IPDS for Varanasi in June 2015.
Work started in December 2015, and Goyal visited regularly to monitor the project and said it would be completed in a year though it had a two-year deadline.
Eighty-six years after the city got electricity, overhead power cables in Varanasi are being dismantled after a project to lay underground lines over 16 sq-km has been finally completed. Laying cables for 50,000 consumers through the serpentine lanes and congested markets in one of the world’s oldest cities was quite a challenge for Powergrid, the company conducting the integrated power development scheme (IPDS) project.
“Demographics-wise Seoul and some Turkish cities on the riverfront were considered complicated. While implementing IPDS in Varanasi, we realised this is the most complicated city to lay infrastructure for underground cables,” said Powergrid’s project manager for IPDS Varanasi, Sudhakar Gupta. The company took two years, and finished in December 2017.
Former Union minister of state for power and coal Piyush Goyal announced the Rs 432-crore project for underground cabling work under IPDS for Varanasi in June 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Rs 45,000-crore IPDS for the country in Varanasi in September 2015. The pilot project was rolled out in Kabir Nagar and Ansarabad.
Work started in December 2015, and Goyal visited regularly to monitor the project and said it would be completed in a year though it had a two-year deadline. “Major differences were found in the actual requirement and proposal in the detailed project report,” a Powergrid official said. Since lanes are narrow, very small pedestal boxes had to be installed for switch boxes.
Eleven old substations have been modernised and two new ones built at Chowk and Kazzakpura areas. Dealing with existing underground utility lines for sewage, water supply, BSNL, among others, was also a challenge. As there is no map of these lines, Powergrid workers often damaged them, stopping work till compensation was paid to the agency concerned. Atul Nigam, managing director of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, said line and revenue losses have reduced after putting cables underground. Line loss in the area covered by IPDS has come down to 9.9% from 42.7%, while consumer complaints have dropped as well, he said.
2018: ‘Green’ fuel
July 15, 2018: The Times of India
PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi has gone green with CNG (compressed natural gas) and PNG (piped natural gas) services, harvesting the first fruits of the Prime Minister’s Rs 13,000-crore energy lifeline for industrial revival in the eastern region.
The city gas distribution (CGD) network was dedicated to the nation by the PM at a function in Varanasi , state-run gas utility GAIL, the agency implementing the Urja Ganga project, said in a statement.
TOI had on April 14 first reported that Varanasi was ready with CNG and PNG services, fed by the Urja Ganga pipeline aimed at supplying clean- burning natural gas to households, vehicles and industries.
The Rs 755-crore Varanasi CGD network will cover 1,535 sq. km. and cater to a population of nearly 37 lakhs. Two CNG stations have started commercial operations and 18 more will be set up. Overall, 20,000 vehicles are expected to switch to CNG in the city.
PNG connections have been given to 8,000 households that are expected to get supplies from March 2019. About 1 lakh households are likely to be covered in total. The CGD network can cater to 150 industries and 500 commercial enterprises. It is expected to give direct employment to 1,000 people.
GAIL has laid a 28-km spur line to connect the Varanasi network to the Urja Ganga pipeline being laid through UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. The project is aimed at speeding up industrial activity in eastern region by supplying gas to help revive fertiliser and power plants, steel plants and other industries.
2014-18: the improvements
Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
From: Binay Singh and Avijit Ghosh, April 26, 2019: The Times of India
VARANASI: When Narendra Modi decided to contest from Varanasi in Lok Sabha 2014 polls, the east Uttar Pradesh city always politically alive but often indifferent to change – was taken by surprise. It was uneasy too. Varanasi is a holy city for the Hindus. But it has also been a place where Hindus and Muslims have lived side by side for centuries, their lives intertwined like zari with cotton in the eloquent saris that are livelihood to lakhs and part of the city’s identity. Some were anxious that Modi’s brand of Hindutva politics could unsettle the city’s fragile fabric. Electorally, it turned out to be a minority view. Modi triumphed by over 3.71 lakh votes, getting more than 56% of the ballot cast.
Now five years later, while the rest of India gets ready to judge the PM, Varanasi’s appraisal also includes his report card as an MP. Travelling across Varanasi, what’s clear is that major infrastructural changes have taken place in and around the city in the past five years. Official statistics show an estimated Rs 21,862 crore has been spent since 2014-15 on development and construction works in the city.
The first major change is visible just as one steps out of the airport: a freshly-constructed four-lane highway. Entering Varanasi is now a breeze. Taxi driver Dilip Shukla tells you that the first phase (17km) of an ambitious Ring Road project is also ready. Work continues in the remaining 26km. The Ring Road will ease traffic congestion in the city and facilitate travel from nearby towns. “With better road connectivity, Varanasi is developing as a commercial hub,” says a senior district official.
There’s a lot more. The cutting-edge Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre, jointly set up by Tatas and BHU, was readied in 10 months and should be a boon to the region. An old railways cancer hospital has now morphed into the modern Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital. Deendayal Hastkala Sankul, a swank and capacious trade facility-cum-museum of handicrafts, offers space to award-winning weavers and craftsmen to sell their product. Shopkeepers say, customers are few and sales low. But the adjoining three-floor museum of textiles, handicrafts and memories–Bismillah Khan’s shehnai being one–is state-of-the-art. Built at a cost of Rs 238 crore, the facilities are meant to attract both domestic and foreign tourists in droves.
At the moment, though, there aren’t any. Many visitors are young local couples. “The museum has received an average footfall of 300 visitors every day this year,” says director Ajay Srivastava. Shop owner Gulzar Ansari, son of award-winning weaver Kamaluddin Ansari says, he barely sells 3-4 renowned kadwa saris a month. “We are patient for but how long? This place should be promoted better,” he says.
Manduadih, one of the four railway stations of Varanasi, has received a makeover. With marbled floors and stainless steel seats, the upgraded station looks more like an airport now. The colorful façade lighting and the vintage engine has turned it into a selfie point. There are glitches though. The canteen was dark when TOI visited the station. Canteen manager Lokesh Verma says, “There is no electricity in the canteen for the past three days.”
The superfast Vande Bharat, which covers 775km distance of Varanasi to Delhi in eight hours and has been the target of stone-pelters, was launched in Feb 2019. And an inland water port been built. “A freight village is under construction,” official sources said. The Benaras airport has never been busier. Number of flights have shot up four-five times in the past years. A senior airport official in Varanasi says, “New flight destinations include Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur, Guwahati, Surat and more. The number of annual passengers has leapfrogged to 7.6 lakh in 2013-14 to 25 lakh in 2018- to Feb 2019.”
This is being reflected in the hospitality business. Gokul Sharma, general secretary, Benaras Hotel Association says, “Overall, room occupancy has doubled. That apart about 150 new hotels have come up in Varanasi and around.”
To most, Varanasi is the city of bylanes and ghats. Unlike in the past, all ghats are lit up, which makes for a remarkable evening boat ride from Dashashwamedh to Assi. “There are more bins in the ghats. But, more importantly, there’s a change in attitude. People are looking for bins to dispose trash,” says Hanuman Yadav, trust secretary, Ganga Seva Nidhi.
He, however, also pointed out that the river hasn’t been cleaned up as was expected. Adds Ajit Sahni, who owns 12 boats, “There is no visible improvement in the quality of the water.” There was a Rs 20,000-crore “Namami Gange” project to “conserve, clean and rejuvenate” the Ganga river. But the results, field reports suggest, are not yet encouraging.
Domestic tourists have grown. Abdul Jalil of Abu Hanifa Travels, who receives tourists from Delhi, Bombay and Madras says, “Business has gone up by 30%-40% in the past couple of years.” Sahni says, “The number of people at the ghat are increasing by the day. Income has doubled. Modi brought Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe and French President Emmanuel Macron to the ghats. This increased curiosity among many Indians.” Boatman Rama (no surname) says there’s a 30% surge in his income. “Earlier the tourist season lasted from August to March. Now people are visiting the ghats throughout the year,” he says.
In 2014, when this reporter had spoken to power loom owners in Varanasi, absence of electricity was the main problem. Most said that the city received 10-12 hours of electricity. "Now supply has improved to 22-23 hours per day," says Naushad Khan, who's in the hotel business.
The change is visible in several other areas too. Godowliya chowk, where electricity wires once dangled precariously much like Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, looks neat. The wires have been shifted underground. An integrated command and control centre worth Rs 173.53 crore has been set up to manage traffic. However, the traffic remains unruly. The city is still dug up in many parts. The construction of a flyover was delayed due to a major accident that claimed 19 lives when two beams collapsed near Varanasi railway station last May. The 2,261-metre flyover is being built at a cost of Rs 129 crore by UP State Bridge Corporation.
Sewage disposal problems remain, though a treatment plant has been readied at Goithaha at the cost of Rs 218 crore. But only half of the households have been connected to the sewer line, in Trans-Varuna area so far,” says SK Rai, general manager, Ganga Pollution Control Unit, UP Jal Nigam.
Like Prayagraj, the murals and wall paintings have created a new -look Varanasi. The Allahabad artwork looks brighter though. But the Varanasi paintings and murals are more diverse. Bhagat Singh, APJ Abdul Kalam, Jawaharlal Nehru, scenes from Premchand’s Eidgah and Jaishankar Prasad’s famous poem, Kamayani are included in the murals made on Lahura Bir chowk. But painter Manjula Chaturvedi points out, “A lot of money has been spent. But the wall paintings are not upto the mark. They have not been put in a planned, aesthetic manner.”
Setting up industries hasn’t been a’s priority area. R K Chaudhary, chairman Varanasi chapter of Indian Industries Association, lauds the PM for building the city’s infrastructure. But adds, “Modi ji came here so many times but he did not host a single meeting with industrialists and traders. There’s zero investment. And so much unemployment,” he says. Congressman Gaurav Kapoor, secretary (research), UP in-charge has the same view. “Not a single stone laying ceremony for a factory has been laid. There’s no new business coming to town. There is no employment generation,” he says.
However, Subina Chopra, director, Aryan International School feels that one must evaluate Modi’s work in the context of what Varanasi was and what it has become in the past five years. “Varanasi is a more liveable city today,” she says.
Overall, Varanasi remains a work in progress. But it has also made a lot of progress.
How Varanasi voted in 2014
Narendra Modi (BJP) - 5,81,022 votes
Arvind Kejriwal (AAP) - 2,09,238
Vijay Prakash Jaisawal (BSP) - 60,579
Kailash Chaurasiya (SP) - 45,291
MORE TOURISTS IN VARANASI
25 lakh passengers flew into the city in 2018- 2019 (till Feb), up from 7.6 lakh in 2013-14. Travel agents say hotel room occupancy has doubled over the years and business is up 30-40%
=== Kashi Vishwanath CORRIDOR === NEW CORRIDOR HAS NO PLACE FOR BYLANES' 'TRUE INHABITANTS' Temples, some over 200 years old, jut out of the rubble, like a surrealistic Dali painting. Boys play tennis ball cricket on a flattened piece of land oblivious to the earth movers working furiously nearby. Armed sentries repose under the summer sun. Not long ago this area, near Kashi Vishwanath temple, was a cluster of homes and lanes leading to the Jalasen ghat. Now it has been turned inside out for a proposed pedestrian corridor -- 50-70m wide and 330m long -- leading directly to three ghats on the Ganga (Manikarnika, Jalasen and Lalita) from Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Vishwanath Dham, as the ambitious project has been named, will offer “world-class” amenities such as hospital, auditorium, shops, lodging, etc., that will be constructed specially for the corridor. The project requires about 39,000 square metres of land and by the end of last month, 88% had already been purchased and acquired, top officials associated with the project said. To that end, 240 properties have been purchased so far, 212 homes demolished. In the process about 42 temples, largely hidden from the public eye, have been discovered. “Everything has been done as per the recent Land Acquisition Act. We have paid the owners two times the value of their homes. Even rentiers have received up to Rs 10 lakh,” says Vishal Singh, secretary, Varanasi Development Authority. About Rs 290 crore has been spent for this purpose. Last March, PM Modi told a gathering at the temple that “this project will become a model for similar projects elsewhere, and would give a new global identity to Kashi.”
Nati Imli area: Bunkar (weaver’s) Colony
Prof Vishwamber Nath Mishra, who teaches electronics in IIT (BHU) and is also the mahant of Sankatmochan Temple feels that the step is ill-thought and out of sync with the ethos and character of the city. “Benaras is a place to feel, sense it vibrations. The demolishing of bylanes (galis) near Kashi Vishwanath goes against the very essence of Benaras. Those who have been made to leave are the true inhabitants of the city,” he says. Then he adds, “Benaras is known as Shiv’s City; this is an attempt to leave a personal stamp on the city.”
Singh counters the view. He maintains there is “no credible opposition” to the project. “I fail to any see the argument against it,” he says.
The overall amount, Rs 24 lakh, that the extended Dalit family of 32 had received has been distributed among six co-owners. Each received Rs 4 lakh. They now live in rented homes at Piplani Katra and Gowdowlia. “We have been distanced from our work place. We wonder what will happen when the money gets over,” says Sanjay Bharti, an occasional boatman. Sheela Devi worked as a maidservant in nearby homes. Now she is searching for new workplaces.
IN WEAVER'S COLONY, TALK OF GST, COMMUNAL TENSION It is an early summer afternoon. The city temperature has shot up in the past few days. And it’s no different at the Bunkar (weaver’s) Colony in Varanasi’s Nati Imli area where even a conversation on economy gets heated. “The co-operatives benefit from the assistance that a government provides. They have grown rich over the years. We still lead lives of uncertainty,” says Saud Ahmed.
It’s a group of 10 odd weavers but Ahmed is the most vociferous. “We want a Bunkar (weaver’s) card. All assistance should be transferred directly into our accounts,” he demands. Others nod in affirmation.
The weaver’s colony was found about five decades ago, locals say, though opinion differs on the exact time. About 100 families from Madanpura were offered facilities and asked to move in but over the years, many of the original owners have been replaced by the more rich and powerful families, wrote Naser Ahmed in a 2006 paper, Globalization and the Indigenous Artisan Economy. As per old estimates, Varanasi and nearby areas has about 500,000 weavers.
Daily wagers, contractors and rich businessmen in the industry say that the implementation of GST has affected their business adversely. Manufacturing has slumped. Sales are low. From all accounts, GST has forced a fundamental change in their way of business. The entire business, conversations reveal, was conducted on an informal basis. Now with receipt books coming into play, there is a shock to the system. “Payments are delayed,” says Mohd Asif, a contractor with 12 daily wagers working for him.
He has other worries too. The day after Pulwama, he was roughed up by Hindutva goons in a chauraha nearby. “ Pakistan kab jaibe (When will you go to Pakistan)?,” they asked me,” says Asif. Trader Pervez Akhtar said he has started getting more business in the past few months. But he too is worried about the communal temperature. “Since Modi came to power, one can see a wedge between Hindus and Muslims,” he says. He was, however, optimistic that Varanasi will not change. “The local administration is working hard to maintain peace. After all, the lives and work of both communities are intertwined,” he says.
Photo credit: Sanjay Gupta, AP
Nepal and Varanasi
Nepali Temple
A piece of Nepal in Varanasi
Manjari Mishra | TNN
Varanasi: The two-storeyed terracotta, stone and wood pagoda on the banks of the Ganga looks incongruous among the spires and domes that dominate Varanasi’s skyline. Its resemblance to the famous Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu is as striking as the magnificent view it offers of the holy river and its bustling ghats some 50 feet below.
The 167-year-old structure, the Lalita Devi temple, is supposedly a replica of the famous temple at Kathmandu. Pandit Gopal Prasad Adhikari, head of the Samrajeshwar Pashupatinath Temple Trust (SPTT), the managing body of the temple, claims to possess documents proving the transfer of land by the ruler of Kashi to Nepali king Rana Bahadur Shah way back in 1843.
The temple and its adjacent area, including a dharamshala, belongs to the Nepal government, he claims. A Nepali migrant and a teacher of ‘Vedant Darshan’ by profession, Adhikari is proud of the ‘‘little Nepali island in the heart of India’’.
Driven out of his homeland and rechristened Nirguna Nanad Swami in his adopted city of Varanasi, Rana Bahadur Shah had decided to build a Pashupatinath replica by the Ganga.Work was still underway when the king got back his throne and left Varanasi. His son Rajendra Vir Vikram Shah managed to finish the project 20 years after the deadline.Unlike its more famous neighbour, the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the deity here is left in peace by the devotees. Barring the Nepali community, most people aren’t even aware that such a temple exists in the city, says Sagar Sharma, a member of the managing trust and a third-generation Nepali settled in Varanasi.
‘‘Visitors here are mostly foreign nationals and curious tourists,’’ says Adhikari. The temple management charges Rs 10 from the foreigners for its upkeep.
The temple has gone through a makeover as the old structure caved in due to years of neglect. ‘‘It was due to the initiative of former Nepal prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala that renovation was completed in 1995.
Society, social changes
Marriages with foreigners, especially Japanese
The Times of India, Dec 12 2015
Rajeev Dikshit
Banarasi babus & their Japani biwis When a handsome Joy Mukherjee serenaded a sizzling Asha Parekh, crooning `Le gayee dil gudiya Japan ki', in the 60s flick `Love in Tokyo', little did he know he would have real life `followers' in Banarasi dudes. Guys from the city seem to have special liking for the Japanese girls for matrimonial alliances. Ahead of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the oldest living city, when TOI went through wedding registration records, it found that more than 50% of the foreigners who married Banarasis are from Japan. Although majority of them are girls, there are a few Japanese damaads as well. Besides, some boatmen have settled in the land of the rising son with their `Japani gudiyas'.
These couples now play the role of cultural ambassa dors, especially promoting Japan's culinary culture. So, be it Sayaka Roy, or Meghumi Devashish, they are all living examples of the assimilation of two cultures. Most of the Japanese girls and also boys arrived in this mythological city as tourists, but found their soul mates here.
Records of the marriage registration office showed that between 2003 and 2015, as many as 45 marriages of Banarasi boys and girls with for eigners were solemnised. Of these, 23 brides or bridegrooms were from Japan.Several couples who married before 2003 are also leading successful married life.
While most of the Indio-Ja panese couples preferred to settle here and lead a traditional Banarasi life, five bridegrooms, mostly from the boatmen fraternity , preferred to settle in Japan with their brides.
Busy preparing for the birthday of his seven year-old son Suryansh, hotelier Debashish Roy , who married Sayaka, recalled, “ “I was born and brought up in Delhi before I visited Kashi and found it perfect to settle in 1990. Sayaka visited India in 2005 and stayed in my hotel. But it took a year to realise that we were in love and we should marry .“
For Ajay Kumar Jain of Sarnath, his profession of translator for Japanese tourists helped in meeting Miho Iwai of Japan in 2000 and they tied the nuptial knot in 2002.
Sayaka said, “Technological advancements in Japan have made everything readymade; life is realistic in Kashi (Varanasi).“
Vegetables
Exports to the UK, after the Gulf: 2020
Varanasi sends 4 tons of vegetable to UK, April 23, 2020: The Times of India
Amid the coronavirus lockdown, a good news made its way from the agricultural sector of Varanasi region as for the first time, a consignment of four tons of green vegetables including chilli, cucumber and lauki (gourd) left for Delhi to be exported to the UK, which is reeling under the onslaught of the virus.
Earlier, vegetable consignments were sent only to the Gulf countries from Varansi region. Speaking to TOI, divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal said, “On Tuesday, a truck left with four tons of farm fresh green chilli, gourd and cucumber in air-conditioned containers for Delhi. The vegetables grown by a progressive farmer, Anil Kumar Rai, in his fields in Ghazipur, will reach London by air cargo from the Delhi airport.” “It is a welcome development for the Varanasi region as the dispatch to London will generate opportunities in the European market also,” he added.
Given the potential of production of fruits and vegetables in Varanasi region which includes five districts of Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Chandauli of Varanasi division and neighbouring Mirzapur and Bhadohi, APEDA has begun the process of setting up agri-export hubs in the region.
See also
Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University
Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan, Varanasi
Varanasi/ Banaras
