Hello Varanasi, Goodbye sins.

[Another entry, another photo]

Our journey began with an early morning flight, everyone was dazed and not in a state of mind to think about what awaited us in the City of Light. The first sights of the city gave an impression of any other Indian city - traffic, noise, cows, chaotic streets, people, and more cows. Honestly I was too tired to keep my eyes open during our journey from the airport to our BHU guest house. From whatever I saw, half asleep or half awake (yes, there is a difference), this is the first impression I formed about one of the most impactful places I have visited.
We spent most of our time in the BHU campus. It was huge, HUGE. The campus was a big part of my journey and did have an impact on our opinion of the city and its people.
Every single local we spoke to had this admirable and heartfelt attachment to their city. When they talked about Varanasi, every word of theirs dripped with pride, it was a delight to listen to them.
                I looked like an obvious outsider for some reason, and my brilliant hindi speaking abilities just made it clearer to them of the fact. So everyone I spoke to started random conversations with me, and all these random conversations revolved around Banaras, how beautiful it was and how this city was the greatest in the world. It was touching to see the pride and love with which they talked about their city and the faith they had in it.
I am glad I had these conversations with a few people before I actually went out exploring Varanasi, it really helped me understand and appreciate the place so much more . The love that the people felt for the city - this is what I want to find in Varanasi. The same exact same feelings for the city that these people have cannot be replicated in me but I decided that during the course of this journey my aim was to try to get an essence of it, and after my journey, even though it was short, I can confidently say that I have found that essence in me.

Something I drew the day before leaving for Varanasi