Synopsis "Banaras"
- An experience of a lifetime -- of traveling through the ghats and lanes of Banaras, the sacred city, where millions of believers pause to encounter the divine -- captured in the pages of a book- Through Nabi's visuals of the waterfront, of the Ganges, the eye meets a world that is frantic of the mundane and magnum opus, a scene of both calm and chaos amalgamated- A unique journey from the pages of history to the contemporary times, this is a narrative composed with meticulous research and beautiful illustrations- Narrated in a story-telling manner, this book will appeal to the common reader and the scholar alikeBanaras is an enigma with a carefully crafted antiquity that runs deep into its veins. It is an anagram hard to decipher. In more tangible terms, going beyond the metaphorical, Banaras is about all its elements and many sights and sounds. It is about the visible thousands, the Banarasis (the dwellers), the pilgrims, the tourists, the patrons, the kings, the emperors, and the nameless. Banaras is the perceived 'sacred' by the believer, reflected in its past created and recreated, finally standing ground in the contemporary or the lived-in, in particular. A visit to Banaras leaves you with vivid memories or recall of a particular moment which resides in one's senses long after the journey. This book is about the author's sensing of Banaras, a quest to comprehend all of the above and a catalyst to experience more.
