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Varanasi (also known as Benares, Banaras, Benaras, Kashi, and Kasi) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges) in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi has a unique culture, quite different from other places in the region. This culture has developed through thousands of years during which it has been one of the major cultural centres of northern India. The whole Varanasi culture revolves around the river Ganga, which is the heart and soul of the city. Varanasi has its own 'Gharanas' (style of music) in classical Indian music. Varanasi has produced some of the most well-known musicians, philosophers, poets, writers in Indian history. To name a few, Kabir, Munshi Premchand, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Bismillah Khan were/are from Varanasi. It even has its own dialect, which is quite different from other dialects of the region. It has been a seat of knowledge from about 700 BC onwards. Its universities attracted students from all over the then-known world. Varanasi is also known as the Cultural Capital of India.
Mark Twain said, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together!".
The modern name Varanasi is derived from two tributaries of Ganga, one in North end of the city, called Varuna and the other in the South end, called Asi (now reduced to a water-drain). The city has an airport at Babatpur, 20 km from the city centre, and is also well-connected to all major cities in India by road and rail.
The old parts of the city near the Ganga which are dotted with sacred temples, are highly crowded with shops and very narrow winding lanes. But most of the middle class and rich people in the city prefer to live in more spacious housing colonies which lie in the rest of the city.
Probably due to its unique Hindu culture (though influenced by Islamic culture too), Varanasi is a major tourist destination for many foreign tourists in India.
Varanasi has several small cottage industries, like saree (traditional Indian female attire), handwoven carpets, and handicrafts. Indian Railways runs a major diesel locomotive factory in Varanasi. |
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Varanasi is the site of the holy shrine of Lord Kashi Vishwanath (a form of Lord Shiva) which is one of the revered 12 Jyotirlingas of the Lord Shiva. Kashi Vishwanath Temple which in the present shape was built way back in 1780 by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, along with the fact that it stands on the banks of the Ganga, has rendered Varanasi a place of great religious importance to the Hindus. Varanasi is considered one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for Hindus irrespective of denomination.
It is believed by many that bathing in the Ganga results in the remission of sins, and that dying in the holy city of Kasi (Varanasi) circumvents rebirth. This belief has encouraged the establishment of innumerable geriatric homes and hospices, as also the disposal of half-burnt corpses into the river Ganga. This latter practice continues to cause immense damage to the river's ecology. The ministry of water resources has finally taken up the restoration of the Ganga in a big way by banning cremation on the city's ghats (ghats are the banks of a holy river, and often, as at Varanasi, steps are built to facilitate bathing).
In the neighborhood of the city lies Sarnath, the site of a deerpark where Gautam Buddha is said to have given his first sermon about the basic principles of Buddhism. It is a major Buddhist pilgrimage center and it also has a stupa built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka the great.
Source Wikipédia
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A2r%C3%A2na%C3%A7%C3%AE
Texte soumis à la licence GNU : http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html |
