Banaras Diaries: Food, Faith & Life

Hello, Pranam, Sat Sri Akal, Aadab dosto…

So here you are, reading my chatpata, mazedaar blog 😌
Today, let’s talk about Banaras — and the one thing without which Banaras feels incomplete… Banaras ki CHAAT 🤌

Bro, honestly, you will fall in love with the food.
Kachori chaat, tamatar chaat, sabzi-kachori, malaiyo, Banarasi bhaang, Banarasi paan — everything feels magical.

People here don’t use onion or lehsun in their food, and still the kachori tastes so good that even I was surprised.
I never thought kachori without onion could be this tasty — but Banarasi kachori proved me wrong.

One thing they use a lot is black chana.
Now obviously, people like us can get bored eating chana every day 😅
And trust me, after 3 days, I didn’t even touch chana for the next one whole week.

I also tried really hard to find a good Banarasi chai.
I went to almost every chai wala in every lane, but somehow, I was disappointed every single time.
But… let it be. It’s Banaras — everything doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to feel real.

Honestly, everyone should experience Banaras at least once in their life.

Blue Lassi & Manikarnika Ghat

Blue Lassi ki lassi is simply chummeshwari 🤍
I went there twice, and somehow,
every time we visited a temple, we always passed through the Blue Lassi wali gali.

And that same lane leads to Manikarnika Ghat…
yes, that Manikarnika Ghat —
the place where you face one of the biggest realities of life.

Death is unpredictable,
but it is also a truth that everyone has to face someday.

People there don’t cry or scream.
They stand quietly
and watch their loved ones moving towards moksha.

Banaras is probably the only city where people pray for death, believing it will free them from the cycle of life.

Before going to Kashi, I used to think —
how life takes our loved ones away from us…
but after visiting Banaras, I realized
it’s not just about losing someone,
it’s about the cycle of life,
and sooner or later, everyone has to accept it.

Banaras won’t give you answers — it will only change the questions you ask.

BANARAS

सच और सपने के बीच में कहीं बसता है बनारस...

बनारस में कोई समझ नहीं सकता कि सच क्या है, और सपना क्या है..

कोई यहाँ सच ढूँढने आता है तो कोई सपना भूलने,
लेकिन बनारस एक ढीठ शहर है —
यह लोगों के सपनों को सच में बदल देता है
और सच को सपनों जैसा महसूस कराने लगता है...

बनारस के चौराहों पर ज़िंदगी के मायने
गोल-गोल घूमते रहते हैं।

कोई उन्हें पकड़ लेता है,
तो कोई खाली हाथ लौट जाता है।

बनारस में आकर इंसान
कुछ खोता नहीं,
बस खुद को थोड़ा-सा
और पा लेता है।

So, bye-bye guys see you in next blog !!