Dasashwamedh Ghat India

Dasashwamedh Ghat India

Dasashwamedh Ghat India

At night, this is The-Place-To-Be in Varanasi, at least in the early evening hours. The local Hindu community does an age-old prayer ritual for the city and the tourists. The priests chant and sing with the accompaniment of musical instruments. The local Hindus join in. It is, after all, a religious ceremony that the majority of them have participated in since their conception. Everyone’s invited. It’s outdoors on stages at the Dasashwamedh Ghat, one of the major Ghats of the city. The performance/ceremony takes about an hour and draws a large crowd. Many people, like myself, watch the event from a boat on the Ganges River. There are dozens of boats filled with tourists who observe the spectacle. It’s unique and it happens early enough that folks like me can still make their bedtimes.