Six hours on a swing: Baba Vishwanath's silver idol walks from Tedhi Neem to the Dham on Raksha Bandhan

Sawan closes in Kashi the way it always has — with Baba Vishwanath on a swing. On Friday, 28 August, Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan fall together, and the silver idol kept at the Mahant's residence in the Tedhi Neem lane will be carried in procession to Kashi Vishwanath Dham, where it is to be seated on a jhula for roughly six hours of darshan. The preparation begins a day earlier. On 27 August the idol is decorated with greenery at the Mahant residence and worshipped there before it leaves. On the day itself the procession sets out from Tedhi Neem with traditional instruments and winds through the lanes, so people who cannot get into the temple still get their darshan from the roadside as it passes. At the Dham the idol is installed in the sanctum and worshipped, and the swing festival is held before the Saptarishi aarti, as SDM Shambhusaran of the temple has confirmed. The observance closes with the Shayan aarti, after which the idol returns to the Mahant residence. Vachaspati Tiwari is coordinating the arrangements. If you are planning to be there, expect the Dham and the approach lanes to be at their fullest — this is the last big day of the Sawan calendar, layered on top of a Raksha Bandhan crowd. Watching the procession along the route is the easier way to see it.

Compiled by HelloBanaras from public sources: Amar Ujala — Varanasi