An Evening in Banaras: Street Food, Jhumkas and the Walk to Dashashwamedh Ghat
If mornings in Varanasi belong to the temples, evenings belong to the lanes. Around Godowlia and the streets leading to Dashashwamedh Ghat, the crowd only thickens as the clock crosses 8.30 pm — and that cheerful bustle is exactly the experience visitors come looking for. The food trail here is legendary and remarkably light on the pocket. Start with tangy pani puri at a roadside stall, move on to steaming vegetable momos — a half plate still costs about twenty rupees — and finish sweet with gulab jamun draped in thick rabri. A khasta kachori rounds off the crawl, and first-time visitors often compare the atmosphere to Delhi's Chandni Chowk. Between bites, the bazaars demand attention. Stalls glitter with jhumkas priced between fifty and a hundred rupees, while shops stacked with Banarasi sarees, shawls and rudraksha malas do steady business late into the night. The walk also reveals the city's wonderfully layered character. Old dharamshalas display signboards in Tamil and Telugu — a reminder that pilgrims from every corner of India have always found a home in Kashi — while the historic St. Thomas Church at Godowlia quietly shares the streetscape with temples and akharas. The lane finally spills onto Dashashwamedh Ghat, the stage of the world-famous Ganga Aarti. Boats line the river offering unhurried rides along the crescent of ghats, and the view of the lit-up riverfront caps the evening perfectly. Travellers who arrive from as far away as Shillong put it simply: Varanasi is something else — and one evening in its streets shows exactly why.
Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: