For the wonderful folk of Team Roobaroo - this is obvously a labour of love. Asides of the exhaustive knowledge and wealth of incredible detailing Anupam and Sudarshan shared with us on our walks in and around Varanasi - it was their love and passion for this incredible city that shone through in their walks and experiences with us. We did the Old Varanasi Walk, the Dev Diwali experience and the Kashi Vishwanath darshan with them.
They made the most innocuous corners of Varnasi come alive with their stories of the city - which could otherwise just have been any other old Indian city. I came to know about the Masan ki Holi where the ritual of Holi is played with ash from the pyes of Manikarnika Ghat ! About how Ma Ganga flows peacefully through Varanasi - because she is at the feet of her beloved Bholenath. A city where people greet each other with a respectful " Mahadev ! "
The intricate details of the Dev Diwali experience and the making of flower rangoli on the ghats and lighting of "
diyas "made the evening very very special.
And I will never evert forget a moving but specatcular " darshan" - in the sanctum sanctorum of Shri Kashi Vishwanath ji. These guys are rockstars. I will be back. Soon.