Life doesn’t end with death and birth is not the beginning of life!

Ghats, the iconic heritage of Kashi in northern India where the funeral pyre burns without a moment’s gap, is witnessing a blend of festivities, fun and spirituality as the 2025 bids farewell, and the 2026 is born.

—life doesn’t end with death and birth is not the beginning of life!

Amidst bone chilling cold, hundreds of foreign and thousands of Indian tourists have arrived in Kashi, also known as Benaras. Boatmen, lemon tea sellers, bhelpuri vendors, and chaat sellers have made elaborate preparations to welcome the tourists.

Boatman Pramod Manjhi says, "Kashi is a beautiful place to be in. The coolness of the weather and the mysticism of the place enhance the importance of the season.”

Ghats are the spots where the dead are consigned to the Fire. And Benaras is famous for its Ghats. Belief has it that a person who dies in Kashi or his body is consigned to the fire here, gets Moksha—salvation from the cycle of birth and death.

Boatman Shankar Majhi is happy because tourists are here to decode the mystery of life and death. Tourists are happier because of many things: the holy River Gange, the mystic ghats, the historic Kashi, and because they are in the abode of the Lord of Life and Death—Lord Shiva.

The Ghats, especially Assi, Dashashwamedh, Maa Sheetla Ghat, Rana Mahal, Rajendra Pasad Ghat, Tulsi Ghat, Rajghat and Namo Ghat have a buzz of activities, ranging from meditation to celebrations.

At a platform, a sadhu (Hindu ascetic) meditates, and just a few metres away, a young man could be seen playing the guitar. The Ghats wake up at 4 in the morning, and are up till 10 at night, and a little thereafter too.

Kamesh Kumar, a tourist from Mumbai, the business capital of India has already spent three days in Kashi walking through the lanes, relishing exclusive delicacies of Kashi and understanding the essence of the day-to-day life here.

Kashi has many colours!

There is no better way than welcoming the 2026 with the blessings of Baba Kashi Vishwanath, as Lord Shiva is known here. The world has witnessed surge of artificial intelligence, some wars have ended, other might end soon, world economic powers have fought their trade wars, rockets have served missiles to the enemy nations—the world has changed, one thing is beyond change.

That’s Shiva, the Eternal!

And it is here that people come back to or set off from.

Bhavna, a resident of Gujarat, recalled, “We walked the Ghats on Tuesday evening and reached Assi Ghat to see the rising Sun. But due to the dense fog, we missed that view. However, we are enjoying a walk through the Ghats. It is simply amazing to be in Kashi, on the eve of 2026.”

From the Ghats to lanes, batches of tourists and religious pilgrims can be seen everywhere in Kashi. Kashi is brimmed with life.

Security arrangements are well arranged. and put in place a traffic diversion. “At Baba Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, security has been increased in view of increasing crowds on the New Year,” said commissioner of police, Mohit Agarwal. On an average, half a million devotees are visiting Baba Kashi Vishwanath Temple daily, according to Agarwal.

Boating in the River Gange is both a mundane and spiritual activity by tourists. Overloading of boats has been completely prohibited, and strict instructions have been given to the concerned officials to ensure that all passengers wear life jackets while on board, the commissioner of police noted.

To ensure security and smooth movement of tourists, the areas from Maidagin to Godaulia in Kashi has been declared a "no-vehicle zone".

Coincidentally, Benaras happens to the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.