KYOTO TO VARANASI?

First, it was cultural diplomacy. Then bargains and hard selling businesses. To conclude, it had the soft marketing of personal touch.

Narendra Modi’s undoubtedly highly successful Japan visit is emblematic of the strategic and economic needs of both of the giant economies. And at the end of the visit, some really good deals were signed and some far-reaching mutual agreements were reached at (though the civil nuclear deal is still not there).

And one of the deals is Varanasi-Kyoto agreement that envisions to make Varanasi a smart city while preserving its heritage, something that has been done beautifully in Kyoto, the temple city of Japan, the city of ten thousand shrines and the imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years.  

Varanasi is India's and Hinduism's religious capital and Varanasi is India's spiritual capital. In fact, the trinity of Lord Shiva, the Ganga and death make Varanasi an unmatched seat of spiritual wisdom with a legacy blessing the humankind since the dawn of the human civilization. 

Varanasi, the temple city, Varanasi, the city of ghats, is much older than Kyoto when we see it in the context of the archaeologically proved earliest settlements. 

But Varanasi is not Kyoto, India is not Japan and moreover, Indians are not Japanese. 

And that makes it a tough task. Some serious soul-searching is needed before planning any further step to work on this 'Partner Cities' concept. It needs to go beyond the planning desks of Delhi and must imbibe the true Banarasi essence to assess what the city is, and what it needs to become what it needs to be, symbolizing the Spiritual trinity and a fascinating culture, the Banarasi way of life. 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/