๐ฎ๐ณ Varanasi is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world, even as the traditions are transformed in the face of modernisation, generational changes and emigration. The city has a syncretic tradition of Muslim artisanship that underpins its tourism. The name Varanasi was officially so revived after 1947, but the city is still widely known by its earlier name Banaras or Benares, and its ancient name Kashi. Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the south-eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is 692 km (430ย mi) to the south-east of India's capital New Delhi, 320 km (200ย mi) south-east of the state capital, Lucknow, and 121 km (75ย mi) east of Allahabad, another Hindu pilgrimage site.
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have given his first sermon, "The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma", at nearby Sarnath in 528 BCE. In the 8th century, Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. During the Muslim rule during the Middle Ages, the city became an important centre of Hindu devotion, pilgrimage, mysticism and poetry contributing to its cultural importance. Tulsidas wrote his Awadhi language epic, the Ramcharitmanas, a Bhakti movement reworking of the Sanskrit Ramayana, in Varanasi. Several other major figures of the Bhakti movement were born in Varanasi, including Kabir and Ravidas. In the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar built two large temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu in the city. Under the Treaty of Faizabad, the East India Company acquired Benares in 1775, the city later successively becoming a part of the Benares Division in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces, the North-Western Provinces, and the United Provinces, and after India's independence of Uttar Pradesh.
Silk weaving, carpets and crafts and tourism employ a significant number of the local population, as do the Banaras Locomotive Works and Bharat Heavy Electricals. Varanasi is a cultural centre of northern India that has been closely associated with the Ganges. Hindus believe that dying here and being cremated along the Ganges river banks allows the cycle of rebirth to be broken and salvation to become possible. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats, steps leading down the steep river bank to the water, where pilgrims perform rituals. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat, and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead. The Hindu genealogy registers at Varanasi are kept here. Among the notable temples in Varanasi are Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Shiva, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, and the Durga Temple.
The city has long been an educational and musical centre: many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians live or have lived in the city, and it was the place where the Benares gharana form of Hindustani classical music was developed. In the 20th century the Hindi-Urdu writer Premchand and the shehnai player Bismillah Khan were associated with the city. India's oldest Sanskrit college, the Benares Sanskrit College, was founded during East India Company rule in 1791. Later education in Benares was greatly influenced by the rise of Indian nationalism in the late 19th-century. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College in 1898. In 1916, she and Madan Mohan Malviya founded the Banaras Hindu University, India's first modern residential university. Kashi Vidyapith was established in 1921, a response to Mahatma Gandhi's Non-cooperation movement.
Economy According to the 2006 City Development Plan for Varanasi, approximately 29% of Varanasi's population is employed. Approximately 40% are employed in manufacturing, 26% work in trade and commerce, 19% work in other services, 8% work in transport and communication, 4% work in agriculture, 2% work in construction, and 2% are marginal workers (working for less than half of the year).
Among manufacturing workers, 51% work in spinning and weaving, 15% work in metal, 6% work in printing and publishing, 5% work in electrical machinery, and the rest work in a wide variety of industry sectors. Varanasi's manufacturing industry is not well developed and is dominated by small-scale industries and household production.
Silk weaving is the dominant industry in Varanasi. Muslims are the influential community in this industry with nearly half a million of them working as weavers, dyers, sari finishers, and salespersons. Weaving is typically done within the household, and most weavers are Momin Ansari Muslims. Varanasi is known throughout India for its production of very fine silk and Banarasi saris, brocades with gold and silver thread work, which are often used for weddings and special occasions. The production of silk often uses bonded child labour, though perhaps not at a higher rate than elsewhere in India. The silk weaving industry has recently been threatened by the rise of power looms and computer-generated designs and by competition from Chinese silk imports. Trade Facilitation Centre is a modern and integrated facility to support the handloom and handicraft sector in Varanasi; providing trade enhancement and facilitation to both domestic & international buyers. Hence, carrying forward the rich traditions of handlooms and handicrafts.
In the metal manufacturing sector, Banaras Locomotive Works is a major employer. Bharat Heavy Electricals, a large power equipment manufacturer, also operates a heavy equipment maintenance plant. Other major commodities manufactured and traded in Varanasi include hand-knotted Mirzapur carpets, rugs, dhurries, brassware, copperware, wooden and clay toys, handicrafts, gold jewellery, and musical instruments. Important agricultural products include betel leaves (for paan), langra mangoes and khoa (solidified milk).
Tourist Industry Tourism is Varanasi's second most important industry. Domestic tourist most commonly visit for religious purposes while foreign tourist visit for ghats along River Ganges and Sarnath. Most domestic tourists are from Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, while the majority of foreign tourists are from Sri Lanka and Japan. The peak tourist season falls between October and March. In total, there are around 12,000 beds available in the city, of which about one half are in inexpensive budget hotels and one third in dharamsalas. Overall, Varanasi's tourist infrastructure is not well developed.
In 2017, InterContinental Hotels Group made an agreement with the JHV group to set up Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotel chains in Varanasi.
The prominent malls and multiplexes in Varanasi are JHV Mall in the Cantonment area, IP Mall in Sigra, IP Vijaya Mall in Bhelupur, Vinayak Plaza in Maldhaiya and PDR Mall in Luxa. The city has several banks, including the Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and State Bank of India.
Varanasi is rated E+ by the Global Urban Competitiveness Report (GUCR) which evaluates and ranks world cities in the context of economic competitiveness. E+ cities are strong regional gateway cities. Varanasi was ranked #394 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Varanasi has a population of over 1,091,918 people. Varanasi also forms the centre of the wider Varanasi District which has a population of over 4,110,000 people. Varanasi is ranked #750 for startups with a score of 0.191.
To set up a UBI Lab for Varanasi see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork
Varanasi is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Music see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Varanasi has links with:
๐ณ๐ต Kathmandu, Nepal ๐ฏ๐ต Kyลto, JapanUNESCO Creative Cities for Music include: ๐ฆ๐บ Adelaide ๐ฐ๐ฟ Almaty ๐ต๐น Amarante ๐ฎ๐ฉ Ambon ๐ณ๐ฟ Auckland ๐ง๐ฆ Banja Luka ๐ฎ๐ณ Benares ๐ฌ๐ผ Bissau ๐จ๐ด Bogotรก ๐ฎ๐น Bologna ๐ฎ๐น Bolzano ๐จ๐ฌ Brazzaville ๐จ๐ฟ Brno ๐ต๐ฑ Bydgoszcz ๐ป๐ช Caracas ๐ฎ๐ณ Chennai ๐ป๐ณ Da Lat ๐ฒ๐ฆ Essaouira ๐จ๐ฑ Frutillar ๐ง๐ช Ghent ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Glasgow ๐ฎ๐ณ Gwalior ๐ฏ๐ต Hamamatsu ๐ฉ๐ช Hannover ๐จ๐บ Havana ๐ต๐น Idanha-a-Nova ๐ฒ๐พ Ipoh ๐บ๐ธ Kansas City ๐ต๐ฑ Katowice ๐ท๐บ Kazan ๐ฏ๐ฒ Kingston ๐น๐ท Kirsehir ๐ต๐น Leiria ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Liverpool ๐ช๐ธ Lliria ๐ฉ๐ช Mannheim ๐ซ๐ท Metz ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexicali ๐จ๐ญ Montreux ๐ฒ๐ฝ Morelia ๐ธ๐ช Norrkรถping ๐ฎ๐น Pesaro ๐น๐น Port of Spain ๐จ๐ป Praia ๐ต๐ธ Ramallah ๐ง๐ท Salvador ๐ฎ๐ท Sanandaj ๐น๐ท ลanlฤฑurfa ๐ฉ๐ด Santo Domingo ๐ช๐ธ Seville ๐น๐ญ Suphan Buri ๐ฐ๐ท Tongyeong ๐ซ๐ท Toulouse ๐จ๐ด Valledupar ๐จ๐ฑ Valparaรญso ๐ฎ๐ณ Varanasi ๐ญ๐ท Varaลพdin ๐ท๐บ Veliky Novgorod ๐ญ๐บ Veszprรฉm ๐ท๐ธ Vranje
๐ต๐ฐ Gwadar District 25.333
๐ฆ๐ช Sharjah city 25.35
๐ฎ๐ท Chฤbahฤr 25.299
๐ฎ๐ณ Siddharthnagar 83.095
๐ท๐บ Akademgorodok 83.097
๐ฎ๐ณ Visakhapatnam 83.283
๐ฎ๐ณ Vizianagaram 83.406
๐ณ๐ต Siddharthanagar 83.45
๐ท๐บ Novosibirsk 82.95
๐ท๐บ Novosibirsky District 82.933
๐ฐ๐ฟ Ust-Kamenogorsk 82.617
๐ฎ๐ณ Nowrangapur 82.55
๐ฎ๐ณ Nabarangpur 82.55
Locations Near: Varanasi 83,25.3167
๐ฎ๐ณ Ghazipur 83.57,25.58 d: 64.3
๐ฎ๐ณ Allahabad 81.834,25.438 d: 117.9
๐ฎ๐ณ Prayagraj 81.833,25.433 d: 117.9
๐ฎ๐ณ Deoria 83.779,26.502 d: 153.1
๐ฎ๐ณ Aurangabad 84.374,24.753 d: 152
๐ฎ๐ณ Gorakhpur 83.383,26.759 d: 164.9
๐ฎ๐ณ Ayodhya 82.192,26.788 d: 182.4
๐ฎ๐ณ Kushinagar 83.888,26.741 d: 181.5
Antipodal to: Varanasi -97,-25.317
๐ต๐ช Pisco -76.2,-13.717 d: 17487.7
๐ต๐ช Callao -77.15,-12.067 d: 17463.4
๐ต๐ช San Isidro -77.033,-12.083 d: 17454.5
๐ต๐ช Lima -77.033,-12.05 d: 17452.2
๐ต๐ช Villa El Salvador -77,-12.05 d: 17449.4
๐ต๐ช Chincha Alta -76.133,-13.45 d: 17465.1
๐ต๐ช Ancรณn -77.15,-11.733 d: 17440.3
๐ต๐ช Ica -75.733,-14.067 d: 17466.9