Inside Kashi: How the World's Oldest Living City Blends Timeless Heritage with New India
Varanasi — known to devotees as Kashi and to locals as Banaras — is often described as the world's oldest continuously inhabited city. A new half-hour documentary from Dainik Jagran takes viewers deep into its lanes, ghats and traditions, showing how thousands of years of spiritual heritage now walk hand in hand with modern development. The journey naturally begins at Kashi Vishwanath Dham, where the grand corridor now links the ancient Jyotirlinga temple directly to the Ganga. From the spectacle of the evening Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat to the solemn eternity of Manikarnika, and onward to the sleek new Namo Ghat with its iconic namaste sculptures, the riverfront tells a story of continuity and renewal at once. Beyond the ghats lies an equally rich cultural landscape. Sarnath, where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon, sits just a few kilometres away. Banaras Hindu University carries forward a century-old tradition of learning. The Banaras Gharana still shapes Indian classical music, while the legacies of saint-poets Kabir and Tulsidas live on in the city's everyday speech. No portrait of Banaras is complete without its handloom Banarasi sarees, woven over weeks by master weavers, or its beloved food culture — kachori-jalebi mornings, chaat evenings and the famous Banarasi paan. What emerges is a city that refuses to choose between past and future. For travellers planning a visit, the film is a warm reminder that Kashi is not a monument to be seen but a living tradition to be experienced — one boat ride, one bhajan and one narrow lane at a time.
Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: