THE narrow alleys leading up to Varanasi’s Kashi Viswanath temple, seething with humanity, materiel, holy cattle and the decaying detritus of religious offering, is a microcosm of Varanasi—ancient, unchanging and unflappable, one of the world’s great pilgrimage towns. Even Covid-19 restrictions haven’t silenced its historic lanes: over 100 people are engaged in the ongoing work of the Kashi Viswanath Corridor project, a five lakh square feet area being developed to provide access to the temple. Loud, juddering earth-movers and heavy dumpers often drown out the sound of temple bells and conches in the labyrinthine quarter.
New structures have sprouted in the lanes, replacing some heritage buildings, as serpentine bylanes are widened for spacious pathways from the three ghats on the Ganga to the Vishwanath temple. The corridor, a pet project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will cost an estimated Rs 600-crores, accommodate lakhs of devotees and enable a direct view of the temple from the ghats.
As Kashi prepares to welcome more visitors, over a hundred kilometers away, Ayodhya, another ancient town, has just seen the laying of the foundation for the Ram temple at Ram Janmabhoomi. The long-drawn Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title case was settled by the Supreme Court in November last year.
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin August 17, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Outlook dergisinin August 17, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Trump, Up And Charging
'Many countries are nervous about Donald Trump returning to power, but India is not one of them'
Post and Past the Oil in Azerbaijan
As the UN climate conference takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan traces the history of the hydrocarbon industry through the lens of postage stamps
Bhutto's Nehru Story
Nehru's principle of \"compromise and argument\" remains the only workable formula for South Asian leaders
Breathless on Bachchan
Cédric Dupire's documentary The Real Superstar is an irreverent, experimental archive of Amitabh Bachchan's life and his stardom
The Anaphora to Zeugma of the Queen's English
Shashi Tharoor's book is a logophile's candy shop, full of fun, surprises and insights
The Wind Knocked
THE wind knocked on the door. Hesitantly. Wanting to be let in. It had heard the murmuring of the flames. And knew that there was a fire. The wind sought shelter.
The Way Home
“We comfort ourselves by reliving memories of protection. Something closed must retain our memories, while leaving them their original value as images. Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians, but always near poets, and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.”—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
The War Artist
Cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco is in search of the truths distorted by conventional narratives
Mining Adivasi Votes
If the BJP manages to win Jharkhand, it will be the third mineral-rich state after Odisha and Chhattisgarh that will fall into the party's kitty
Unequal Republic
Political parties make promises of equal represention to women, but patriarchy continues to dominate electoral democracy
