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Aimless in Banaras: Wanderings in India’s Holiest City
About the Book
A SENSUOUS PORTRAIT OF INDIA’S HOLIEST CITY AS WELL AS A MEDITATION ON LIFE—AND DEATH
While cremating his mother at the famed Manikarnika Ghat, Bishwanath Ghosh pretended he was a writer collecting material for a future book rather than a grieving son—his way of dealing with the last rites. A few years later, he returns to Banaras to write that book. Plunging into its timeless aura, he roams its ghats and galis, sails through the cool breeze of the Ganga, walks through the heat of funeral pyres.
One moment he is observing a sadhu show off his penile strength, in the next he is on a boat with a young woman who has been prophesied to marry seven times, one moment he is in conversation with the celebrated writer Kashinath Singh, who is an atheist, and in the next he is having tea with a globe-trotting priest and a god-fearing doctor.
Ghosh finds a story in every bend as he engages with quintessential Banarasis—their paan-stuffed mouths spouting expletives and wisdom with equal flair—and discovers why they are among the happiest people on earth. Then one evening at Manikarnika, as he emerges from a temple, wearing ash from the cremation ground on his forehead, he finds a bit of Banaras in himself.
Aimless in Banaras is not only a sensuous portrait of India’s holiest city but also a meditation on life—and death.
About the Author
Bishwanath Ghosh, born in Kanpur on 26 December 1970, is the author of the hugely popular Chai, Travels in Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off. He’s also a Hindi poet, who has two well-received compilations—Jiyo Banaras and Tedhi-Medhi Lakeeren—to his credit. His other books include Tamarind Where Modern India Began; Longing, An Outsider at Home in Calcutta and Gazing at Travels Along the Line that Partitioned India. He is an Associate Editor with The Hindu newspaper and lives in Calcutta.
A SENSUOUS PORTRAIT OF INDIA’S HOLIEST CITY AS WELL AS A MEDITATION ON LIFE—AND DEATH
While cremating his mother at the famed Manikarnika Ghat, Bishwanath Ghosh pretended he was a writer collecting material for a future book rather than a grieving son—his way of dealing with the last rites. A few years later, he returns to Banaras to write that book. Plunging into its timeless aura, he roams its ghats and galis, sails through the cool breeze of the Ganga, walks through the heat of funeral pyres.
One moment he is observing a sadhu show off his penile strength, in the next he is on a boat with a young woman who has been prophesied to marry seven times, one moment he is in conversation with the celebrated writer Kashinath Singh, who is an atheist, and in the next he is having tea with a globe-trotting priest and a god-fearing doctor.
Ghosh finds a story in every bend as he engages with quintessential Banarasis—their paan-stuffed mouths spouting expletives and wisdom with equal flair—and discovers why they are among the happiest people on earth. Then one evening at Manikarnika, as he emerges from a temple, wearing ash from the cremation ground on his forehead, he finds a bit of Banaras in himself.
Aimless in Banaras is not only a sensuous portrait of India’s holiest city but also a meditation on life—and death.
About the Author
Bishwanath Ghosh, born in Kanpur on 26 December 1970, is the author of the hugely popular Chai, Travels in Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off. He’s also a Hindi poet, who has two well-received compilations—Jiyo Banaras and Tedhi-Medhi Lakeeren—to his credit. His other books include Tamarind Where Modern India Began; Longing, An Outsider at Home in Calcutta and Gazing at Travels Along the Line that Partitioned India. He is an Associate Editor with The Hindu newspaper and lives in Calcutta.
260 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2025
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About the author
Bishwanath Ghosh
8 books104 followersBishwanath Ghosh is a writer, journalist and poet, born on 26 December 1970 in Kanpur. After spending much of his working life in Chennai, he is now settled in Calcutta, where he presently serves as an associate editor with The Hindu newspaper. His books include:
1. Jiyo Banaras (जियो बनारस), a collection of Hindi poems on Banaras, published January 2022;
2. Aimless in Banaras: Wanderings in India’s Holiest City (2019);
3. Gazing at Neighbours: Travels Along the Line That Partitioned India (2017);
4. Longing, Belonging: An Outsider at Home in Calcutta (2014);
5. Tamarind City: Where Modern India Began (2012), which is a portrait of Madras, now known as Chennai.
6. Chai, Chai: Travels in Places Where You Stop but Never Get Off (2009), which The Telegraph (Calcutta) called "a delightful travelogue with a difference".
He also contributed two stories to Urban Shots, a collection of short stories published in 2010.
1. Jiyo Banaras (जियो बनारस), a collection of Hindi poems on Banaras, published January 2022;
2. Aimless in Banaras: Wanderings in India’s Holiest City (2019);
3. Gazing at Neighbours: Travels Along the Line That Partitioned India (2017);
4. Longing, Belonging: An Outsider at Home in Calcutta (2014);
5. Tamarind City: Where Modern India Began (2012), which is a portrait of Madras, now known as Chennai.
6. Chai, Chai: Travels in Places Where You Stop but Never Get Off (2009), which The Telegraph (Calcutta) called "a delightful travelogue with a difference".
He also contributed two stories to Urban Shots, a collection of short stories published in 2010.
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