My first Varanasi visit by Suraj - Day I

My train arrived at Varanasi station in the morning at 6:45 a.m. .Sonu Bhaiyya hired an auto which dropped us at Godowlia Chowk.We checked in at Prakash Guest House a nice budget hotel near Dashaswamedh Ghat.

From our room's balcony I could see the ancient Brahaspati Temple really beautiful.

In Varanasi many ghats are along River Ganges like Dashaswamedh Ghat, Assi Ghat ,Maharana Ghat, Darbhanga Ghat etc. .Dashaswamedh Ghat was really clean and river Ganges was really wide and you can see it till horizon across its length.Later we rested and had our lunch at Keshari Ruchikar Byanjan Restaurant.

It was a very hot day for roaming around in the streets so we decided to visit near by P.D.R. Mall. 'V' Mart had really nice t-shirts at the cheapest price. Funny thing when we asked a Rickshaw puller fare for Assi Ghat he said 80 Rs.Assi in hindi which means 80.

In the evening I went to see Ganga Aarti which goes on for 1 hour and so many people including foreigners come to see it.

 

Later we took a walk and had dinner at Hotel Vibhav Harsh. It has a completely south-Indian vegetarian restaurant. A guy stands there with traditional jug 'lota' over wash-basin to help people cleanse their hands before dinner. It's an A.C. restaurant with very good service and food was just awesome. We ordered Soth-Indian thal 'dinner' .

Sonu Bhaiyya was nice and informed me about all and everything.

Next day in the morning we went to Assi Ghat where I took the holy dip in the River Ganges.

After a refreshing holy dip in the river Ganges.

On Assi ghat is a water kiosk providing clean drinking water to public.

Later we went to 18th century Durga Temple, overlooking the Durga Kund and worshipped there.

From here we hired an Auto for Sarnath. After attaining enlightenment at Bodh Gaya the Buddha went to Sarnath; and it was here that he preached his first discourse in the deer park .Its a beautiful clean green place.

 

In Sarnath

 

On returning back to Varanasi I had my dinner at Ladesar Restaurant a proper north-Indian Thali.

As we walked back to Godowlia Chowk I saw St. Thomas Church at  Girijaghar Crossing.

 

Neeb Karori Baba: Meet the baba who helped Mark Zuckerberg find his vision for Facebook

At the town hall with PM Narendra Modi, Mark Zuckerberg revealed an unusual connection between Facebook and India. When Facebook wasn’t the behemoth it is today, Zuckerberg visited his mentor Steve Jobs, whose suggestion was to visit an Indian temple. The Facebook CEO spent a month in the country, including two days at the ashram of Neeb Karori Baba, who is famous for having given guidance to some tech greats, including Steve Jobs, ET reports.

Jobs is said to have been deeply influenced by the Indian spiritualism in the 70s, and he visited Neeb Karori Baba’s Kainchi Dham ashram near Nainital, Uttarakhand. It is here Jobs is said to have got his vision to create Apple.



Though Neeb Karori Baba passed away in 1973, he continues to enchant people even today, and his followers include some well known personalities, including Hollywood actress Julia Roberts. A strong follower of Lord Hanuman — and also believed to be his incarnation — Baba has established more than 100 temples in India, as well as the US.



Jobs, Zuckerberg and Roberts aren’t the only foreigners enchanted by Baba. His followers also include Larry Brilliant, former director of Google.org, New York-based photographer Jim, who was renamed Rameshwar Dass by Baba, and Richard Alpert or Ram Dass, an American psychologist, among others

Overloaded noisy motorboats - River Ganges,Varanasi

Devi Ahilyabai Ghat - River Ganges,Varanasi

Happy Foreigners coming down the steps to attend Ganga Aarti - River gan...

Munshi Ghat - River Ganges,Varanasi

Narad Ghat - River Ganges,Varanasi

Rana Mahal Ghat - River Ganges,Varanasi

Raja Ghat - River Ganges,Varanasi

Manikarnika Ghat - River Ganges Varanasi

Glimpses of Sarnath

Life along the Ghats - River Ganges,Varanasi

Beautiful Sunrise - River Ganges,Varanasi

Varanasi Ghats illuminated by L.E.D. lights at night

Morning Boat ride in River Ganges,Varanasi

Glimpses of Varanasi

Ganga Aarti at Dashaswamedh Ghat - River Ganges , Varanasi

Father Goose (1964) - Cary Grant

Its a very nice enjoyable movie from World War II where Cary Grant is tricked into a war job on one of many islands in the Pacific by Harbour Master (Trevor Howard). On visit to a near by island he finds Leslie Caron and her 7 pupils stranded there. He brings them back in his little row boat. Rest of the film revolved around hilarious scenes of his interaction with the 'girls' . The initially silent Jenny (Sharyl Locke), tomboy Harry (Jennifer Berrington), chronic complainer Anne (Pip Sparke), Elizabeth (Stephanie Berrington) and her imaginary friend Gretchen, coming of age Christine (Venina Greenlaw), and the French twins (Laurelle and Nichole Felsette).

And soon Cary Grant falls in love with Leslie Caron. They are married on the island ,chaplain administering their marriage from the radio wire-less just as a Japanese plane attacks their shack. Its a exciting climax where they manage to escape from the island in a submarine. It won an Oscar for Original screenplay.

 

Ganga Aarti at Rajendra Prasad Ghat,River Ganges,Varanasi - Divine,ethereal,mesmerizing & enchanting