Thread by @KanchanGupta

We know what #Varanasi looks like today; what it looked like in 2014. I first visited the oldest living city to do a feature for The Statesman 35 years ago.
Since then, I have visited Varanasi several times. During one visit, I acquired a set of old prints. Sharing them.
#Kashi

‘Dusaswumedh Ghat’, or Dasashwamedh Ghat, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Ugneswar Ghat’, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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Brahman with scriptures after Gangasnan, early morning, Varanasi Ghat, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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Hindu pilgrims at ‘Lulita Debee Temple’ on the eve of Lunar Eclipse, 25 November, 1825. Possibly by James Prinsep.
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Ganga at Varanasi, as seen from the window of a house on the River Eternal’s ghat. By James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Man Mandil’ or ‘Hindu Observatory’ on Ganga, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Rajrajeswuree Ghat’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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Rama Ghat, Varanasi. By James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Munikurnika Ghat’ or Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Ghosal Ghat’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.

‘Bruhma Ghat’ or Brahma Ghat, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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‘Bhurut Mela’, Varanasi, by James Prinsep. 1831. Litho.
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The antiquated and Anglicised names I have mentioned are as printed on the lithographs. Please do add to this thread with current names as many of the extant names of ghats during Prinsep’s time would have changed between 19th and 20th centuries.
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Artist James Prinsep, who painstakingly recorded the ghats of #Varanasi and life in #Banaras in the second quarter of the 19th century, has a ghat named after him in Calcutta / Kolkata — ‘James Prinsep Ghat’, popularly known as ‘Prinsep Ghat’.
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As these litho prints by James Prinsep show, #Varanasi looked vastly different in early 19th century. It would have looked entirely different in the 17th century before Aurangzeb destroyed #KashiVishwanath Mandir and built a masjid on the spot, using the temple’s stones.
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As the world’s oldest living city, #Varanasi has continued to change and evolve, renewing itself and renewing Sanatan Dharma.
PM @narendramodi has not only arrested the decay caused by time, but also reversed it. #Banaras has now stepped into the 21st century.
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#India🇮🇳