by Irene Butler

Published in BC travel Writers

Varanasi. The holiest place on earth in the Hindu religion through recorded time. Shiva, the destroyer god, reigns. He resides in every inch of the city. Over 2000 temples are dedicated to him. Every Hindu tries to come at least once during their lifetime to bathe in his sacred River Ganges that flows alongside the city.

The exuberance of life bursts forth, as the two million people who call Varanasi their home, are continually bombarded with tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors. Cremations are auspicious here. The dead are transported to the city in droves. The funeral pyres burn day and night. We have never been as close to such an abundance of life and death simultaneously as in Varanasi.

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