Choosing between heritage and development

Hinduism dates to around 5000 years! Many centers of religions came up across India during this long period – spanning many centuries and many ruling dynasties of many religions. Some of them became famous and centers of religious tourism due to religious reasons – Varanasi, Mathura, Vrindavan, Haridwar, Tirupati, Nashik, etc., and many places high in the Himalayas. Major temples came up at these places, and soon they got surrounded by markets and residential places of devotees connected by narrow alleys. They have been like that almost for millenniums now – they are crowded and cramped but steeped with history, tradition, and heritage. The Government has now taken the initiative to decongest some of these major temples to make the lives of visiting devotees easier. Broad accessways, modern facilities, religious museums, resting places, etc. have been planned to replace the cramped approaches. The famous Kashi Viswanath temple is the first in line to be soon followed by a famous temple in Vrindavan. [The human and the historical sides of the story below moved me and I had planned to travel many times to Varanasi to witness and document this momentous change. Little did I know then the pandemic had other plans, and I would manage only a part of it !] It is popularly said that Varanasi is as old as time itself - the essence of the millenniums gone by can be felt in every alley of this oldest living city. Time changes and changing time changes priorities too. The local government has taken up an ambitious project from late winter of 2018 to decongest this temple city - a modern religious corridor will be built connecting the sacred river Ganges with the biggest temple of the city. For that, about 300 very old houses had to be pulled down to make way for a wide road and a modern complex. The destruction of those houses (many of them were centuries old) has unearthed many relics and religious artifacts of how life was for the inhabitants in the now-forgotten past. Unaware of the raging debate then between Heritage and much-needed development or the question “Was destroying our heritage the only way out ?”, an old lady (now rehabilitated miles away) would still occasionally visit what used to be her home for decades. She would sit on the ground, touch the broken walls and keep looking at the sacred river flowing where the destruction ends. 100 yards to the left, stand tall, are the chimneys of the electric crematorium at the famous Manikaranika Ghat, symbolizing the Hindu belief of the cycle of death followed by rebirth !! A palpable human tragedy speaks softly where all logic falls silent. 100 yards to the right, beyond the of rubbles, flows the eternal holy river Ganges - witness to many such deaths and rebirths through millenniums. As I turned my back on this momentous event to come back to my busy city life, I found a lone dog, the only sign of life in a sea of destruction, on top of a wall separating the destruction from the eternal Ganges, looking at a boat crossing it !! I went back again earlier this year – after the Covid break when the construction of the corridor got completed. I found a swanky complex – ultra-modern, comfortably accommodating far more people than it ever did - the change can surely be justified! As I got down the elevator, I remembered 3 years ago, the young boy in a blue shirt was trying to enter his home here only amidst ruins of houses belonging to his friends – for one last time!! I looked at the river – the boats were crossing it – as they did for millenniums. I was still not sure I preferred heritage or this development!