In Pictures: A Street View of Varanasi

Here are some snapshots from some streets in Sonarpura and Godaulia area in Varanasi.

A street in Varanasi’s Sonarpura area. (Photo: Sumilan Chatterjee)

“Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, And looks twice as old as all of them put together,” Mark Twain once said.

Kashi, Banaras, Benares or Varanasi. Call it by any name, the age-old city remains famous for many reasons – it’s temples, ghats, pan (beetle quid), it’s culture. But on it’s streets is where the city truly thrives.

The streets of Varanasi wake up before dawn and are seldom found dark and empty. Every street has at least one temple, one tea-shop, one pan ki dukan and a guest house, with people visiting these places round the clock.

Here are some snapshots from some treets in Varanasi’s Sonarpura and Godaulia areas.

Graffiti is a tradition in Varanasi. Seen here is a street in Sonarpura. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

Most shops sell Indian or ‘hippy’ clothes, targeting foreign tourists. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

A street in Godaulia. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

A restaurant in a Sonarpura street. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

An old woman enjoying some sunlight on a winter day, sitting in a temple compound. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

Tourists buying some Indian clothes. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

A street in Godaulia, close to the famous Vishwanath temple. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

A shop selling Varanasi’s famous wood toys. Although famous, the wood toys are on the verge of disappearing from the city’s markets. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

Tourists going back to their guest house in the Godaulia area. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

Dogs are anxiously waiting for their share of ‘prasad’ as a devotee has just come out of a temple]. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)

A tourist seen with a musical instrument. Varanasi is also famous for its music and musical gurus. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat/The Quint)