Four evenings at Rajghat, then the lamps: Kashi fixes 20-24 November for Ganga Mahotsav and Dev Deepawali

Kashi's biggest night of the year now has a date on it. Ganga Mahotsav will run from 20 to 23 November, and Dev Deepawali follows on 24 November — which means anyone planning a November trip to Banaras can start booking three months out instead of scrambling in the last week. Rajghat will be the main stage, with programmes also planned at Namo Ghat. The dates and the shape of the festival came out of a coordination meeting chaired by Divisional Commissioner S. Rajlingam, who told departments the festival should carry Kashi's soul rather than only its scale. Local performers are to be given real space on the programme, including winners from the city's cultural competitions and students of the gurukulam near Rajghat, so that the Ganga-Jamuni thread in the city's music and art is what visitors actually hear. There is a shopping side to it as well. Stalls selling One District One Product items and local crafts are to be set up at prominent ghats and hotels, putting Banaras artisans in front of the national and international visitors who arrive for these four days. The rest is groundwork, and it has started early: silt removal at the ghats by the municipal corporation, then lighting and decoration, security, traffic and parking, power, drinking water, medical posts and fire cover. Three months out, the ghats are already on the list.

Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: Desi Khabar · Live Aaryaavart