How are you

 

How are you? A common question we exchange with people around us without expecting a genuine answer. Life is short and uncertain. The problem is we think we still have time.

After the corona period, we started living our life with double zeal. Rate of travel across the globe increased drastically. Many of us became oblivious of the fragile nature of our daily pursuit of self importance. 

My recent visit to Varanasi, one of the oldest cities of India, stirred the question of 'being' inside me. 

Majority of the people in Varanasi depend on tourism for earning a living. People keep visiting the place throughout the year. I took a boat ride on Ganges river on a moonlight night. The boat crossed several ghats on the river. Devotees gather on the ghats to witness the majestic Ganga Aarti in the evening. Harishchandra Ghat is considered pious place for cremation. The famous Kashi Viswanath temple is situated within a kilometer from Dasaswamedh Ghat. The road from Ghat to center of the city is nothing less than a fanfare. The streets witness steady flow of visitors bargaining for benarasi sari, jewellery and handicraft items throughout the day. And few galis are special for delicious sweet and savouries. If one wishes to explore religious places farther from the ghats, places like Tulsidas temple, Sankat mochan temple, Ramkrishna sevashram, Shiva Linga temple are there to quench their thirst.

I also visited Sarnath, famous for the first semon from Lord Buddha after attaining enlightenment, which is only an hour away from Varanasi. The beautiful Thai garden hosting 80 ft tall Buddha statue, the holy Dhamekha stupa where the first dhamma (preaching) started, the museum exhibiting many artifacts along with the original Ashoka Chakra and Ashoka Pillar and the Silk factory are the must see places for curious minds. 

For centuries, people use to consider Varanasi a place where salvation can be achieved. The mukti bhawan in Varanasi is a holy destination for people who want to spend last few days of life on this holy land. One needs not to be a religious person to sense the faith of the people visiting Varanasi. The feeling of being able to unite with the eternity is what attracts people to this sacred place. This is about feeling, not ritual. If we do not forget to pause and reflect on our actions in day to day life, we can understand this feeling. The crematoriums were reminding me of the corona time, when many unfortunate families could not offer proper cremation to their loved ones. 

Our life is running fast again after corona period. Some families are still rebuilding lives after grave loss. We are blessed to get few more years to live. It is up to us to add meaning to each day of  our remaining journey. I am earnest to listen to the real story of people when I ask 'how are you?'. We survived a pandemic. I am sure each of us has stories in kitty which can be shared and draw inspiration from.