A year of festivalsA year of festivalsउत्सवों का वर्ष

For a few minutes at dusk, on a small open ground at Nati Imli, Ram returns from exile and embraces his brother Bharat.

A five-day festival of classical music and dance on the riverfront, organised by Uttar Pradesh Tourism, with crafts, boat races and food…

A boy dressed as Krishna leaps from a kadamba branch into the Ganga to subdue the serpent Kaliya, and rises standing on its hood playing…

Four days of fasting and offerings to the sun, kept mostly by women. At dusk and again at dawn the ghats fill with families standing…

The night the gods are said to descend to bathe in the Ganga. More than a million earthen lamps line every step of every ghat, and the…

Artwork, not from Varanasi

The birth of Guru Nanak, who came to Kashi in 1507 and spoke with its pandits at the garden now marked by Gurudwara Guru Ka Bagh.

Not taken in Varanasi

Two weeks of Tamil–Kashi exchange: delegations of students, artisans and pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, Carnatic music and bharatanatyam on the…

Midnight services in the Cantonment's churches, carols sung by congregations from across the city through December, and a three-day fair…

Artwork, not from Varanasi

The birth of Parshvanath, the 23rd Tirthankara, in Kashi itself. Jain pilgrims gather at Bhelupur, the place Jains hold as his birthplace,…

The birth anniversary of the saint Ravidas brings one of the largest gatherings in the city to his birthplace temple at Seer Govardhanpur.

The end of the Ramadan fast. Thousands gather for morning prayers at Lat Sarai Eidgah and the city's mosques, and then the lanes of…

Shiva's night in Shiva's own city. The temple stays open through the night for darshan, and the next day the Shiv Baraat, the wedding…

On Rangbhari Ekadashi Shiva is said to bring Parvati home to Kashi after their wedding, and the temple and lanes turn red with gulal.

The full moon of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing. At Sarnath the relics kept in Mulagandha Kuti Vihar are carried in…

Not taken in Varanasi

Ten days of mourning for Imam Husain, martyred at Karbala. Tazias of paper, mica and bamboo, some of the most intricate in north India made…

The day the Ganga is said to have descended from heaven to earth. Bathers crowd the steps from before sunrise, and the evening aarti is at…

Artwork, not from Varanasi

Kabir's birth is remembered where he lived and where he was found as a child. At Kabir Chaura Math singers of the Kabir Panth gather for…

Shiva's month. Kanwariyas in saffron fill their pots at the ghats and carry Ganga water to pour over the linga, and each Monday the temple…