In eastern Uttar Pradesh, on the banks of the Ganges, stands the ancient city of Kashi, a significant pilgrimage site in India that has attracted folks from all walks of life – Mark Twain famously called it older than history and tradition. American poet Mary Oliver also described a scene of a woman carrying water to refresh the shrine of Shiva in her 2012 poem Varanasi. It is the city where people come to attain enlightenment, and where our existence dissolves in the fog of history and time.
