The luminous city of lord Shiva

Differently nature & nurtured the luminous city of lord Shiva is so unique to get the utmost attention from the world. Each historical city around the world has intrinsic values unique to the city only so is true to Kashi known as Varanasi. In ancient time people used to come here in numbers for just one purpose Salvation (Moksha) from all around Asia(as current developments in archaeology suggests the boundaries of Jumbudweep was from Iran to South-East Asia) culturally intact till date. Another name suggests the same nature of the city called Mahasamshan (The ultimate cremation ground).

There are seven sacred cities in India & Kashi is believed to be the most sanctimonious among them that people dying in other sacred cities will take its last birth in Kashi & from here they will assimilate with absolute one that negate the cycle of life and birth. Such is the importance of this city known as Avimukta. Another name of the city defines the nurturing of the city from ancient time called Anandvan. The city used to be the place of blessed Forests, Lakes, Kunds, Gurukuls, Gardens and rivers in its long historical development throughout the history of the city & provides calmness to the people residing in search of salvation. 

Business & Employment has always been of secondary importance to the city dwellers after religious matters & social gatherings to cleanse their souls for the final journey. Any modern development in the city should not destroy the nature & nurture of the city either the city will die its own death in due course of time like the other historical cities of the world. Geographical location of the city is so auspicious as river Ganga in its course of journey from Uttranchal to Bay of Bengal in east flows from North to South but here in Varanasi it flows upward again from South to North. In Hindu way of life northern direction is believed to be the way of heaven so the river Ganga in Varanasi takes souls to absolute one. This unique geography of city comprises all the representative temples of other sacred places in India so become more auspicious of finding a place in absolute city. 

Religion from time immemorial has been the firm ground of shaping India culturally it is more suitable to say that Varanasi is the city comprising India culturally within as being the most religious place in India. Earlier developments in the city was done in the British Period where the debris & ruins of old temples & routes of ancient water ways were being distorted all together just to make one major road connecting Northern & Southern fringe of the city. Two important bridges were made at Varuna & Rajghat with the ancient ruins found from Ghats & Sarnath areas. Just to make the Jagatganj one major Stupa was destroyed all together from Sarnath. 

Other constructions all around the city were made just on the ancient debris without concerning the matter of historical importance related. Modern developments around city are being executed with the same patterns of destructions rather constructions. Infrastructural development in the city requires planned development of a higher level because Varanasi is not like just any other city. No such development in city should be allowed without the evaluation of the long term impacts of the modern developments. There used to be numbers of water bodies all around city but now they are few in numbers even these few water bodies are neglected by the authorities. Initially the water bodies are encircled by the raw constructions in due course of time these constructions give way to new firm constructions gradually the whole area is being encircled and the whole lake is being walled by the constructions just by the negligence of the authorities. Hundreds of old structures all around city are been changed with new constructions distorting the heritage look of the city with the few well cheating methods of arising an ownership issue or negligence for a longer period for self dilapidations. 

Authorities stay passive to these developments enough till the issue goes out of their hands. Same is true with the parks as well. Thousands of trees around the city are cut in the name of new developments but not a single tree is planted & cared enough to make this city greener. All these developments of a sustainable manner go on paper & are kept in files to show at the time of inspections only.

Heritage conservation should be on the priority list of the government’s agenda as the whole city comes in the gamut of historical nature. Being the oldest living city in world historical monuments are not the only perspective kept in mind Sociological, Language, Fairs & Festivals, Traditions, Landscapes, Food etc are all to be documented with proper evaluations by the competent authorities with the discussions from historians & professionals from different streams. At the same time Knowledge & Classical Music of city to be cherished & documented not to make a file only but for the further assistance & promotion by the means whichever is suitable for further development. As being once the business center for northern India Varanasi has lots to be preserved in goods as well. Herbal treatment methods & herbs of the city are unique to be documented & preserved for next generations to come. Handicraft items of the city are in its purest form as people from all around India had come here for the final transcend & had given their best in the field of arts they had possessed. Nurturing of the city should be started only after the overall documentation of the heritage aspect of city done completely. 

As few pockets of city are so unique true to be living heritages need to be given special attention before giving any modernity & infrastructural development. As the old city is situated on the higher grounds of the western bank of river, artesian had made unique constructions to be it cooler in the time of extreme heats of 40°-45°. The city in this area has narrow lanes with higher buildings for living of dwellers. Buildings are made of stones, beams of woods & irons, mud & soil, multi storied, barandas, smaller entrance etc. 

These constructions in the city are so important to be preserved & evaluated with the modern methods to be more suitable with minor modifications for the current generations. Few buildings among them are of great attentions to be marked & documented as heritage and should be preserved for the further generations in its natural form. Mobility in this area requires special measures as only few selected vehicles like Ambulance, Police Jeeps etc should be allowed only & the other entire vehicle should be banned all together as the area is not much of distance. Special provisions of community vehicle or any other plan can change the core issue of this but the road developments. Other parts of the city have somewhat same problems but the scope of infrastructural developments has some points to be made. Infrastructural planning of the city has no sense altogether as which areas should be developed in which manner so the traffic of that area will move smoothly.

Further large scale developments of metro city could only be possible if nearby districts are engaged with the master plan as opportunities are immense there for developments. Connectivity to these locations with rapid transportation can solve the issue of mass population in the city to get low cost accommodations & staying there. Currently all the old constructions of the city are distorted with multi storey buildings just to accommodate the further incursion of the people in city. Norms to be followed in the city of being historical are mocked without hindrance because of the working culture of the authorities. 

Private players working in the city are more concentrated on the factors of gaining money from already sold out methods of having home in Varanasi. But modern techniques of higher quality can only be applied when the nearby pockets of the city are chalked out for the further developments of the larger city planning. Land use planning is in dismal condition as the authorities keep an alien approach to its lands all together. Most of the lands in city are either contentious with the public & private parties or are in possession of some trusts or committees. They misuse these lands according to the suitability of joining the hands with legal care takers illegally. They are in numbers to be converted as public open spaces & green areas with the support of the private parties with few initiatives taken by the government engaging the parties involved to generate revenues from different means. 

As mentioned above people in city love discussions for longer durations demanding open spaces chiefly requiring community spaces will feel comfortable of having a go at these places. Maintenance of these places is not hard with private parties involved. Modern designs can play a pivotal role in this area chiefly as smaller places can be developed as wonder lands with newer techniques to make city greener again. New small scale economical activities of community based can transform the bigger picture of the city where people from lower strata of economical ladder could be engaged in big manner. City has big demand of goods relating to religious matters & production centre of different day to day life goods for the nearby areas as geographical situation provide immense opportunities to be explored. 

Thorough economical studies are required to evaluate the actual conditions prevailing in the city & nearby areas. Engaging the masses in aged old techniques won’t work in current situation of the city. Population incursion in the city is reasoned solely dependency of nearby districts on Varanasi people from these places comes in numbers of some employment in the city of different kinds. To incorporate this big number nearby areas of city need industrial development of bigger investments. These areas can be developed in big manner & connectivity of these places to the towns of industrial cities requires rapid transportation.     

This small initiative of ours is to give a platform to all the experts of different fields & authority to come together to form a professional planning outline for the city of gods & goddesses to preserve it for the newer generations to come. At the same time how the modern techniques can help this city to cater other essentiality of the modern world. Let’s walk together for the small initiatives to make the city Anandavan once again.           

by Siddharth Singh