Varanasi carries a particular energy in the air. Along the banks of the Ganges, cremation ceremonies take place day and night. Many pilgrims travel there with the intention of passing away in the city, believing it offers liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

 

There is grief here, but also devotion. Mourning, but also reverence.

Walking through the ghats you feel something difficult to describe — a quiet intensity, as if life itself were laid bare. There is no attempt to hide death or push it to the margins. Instead, it is held openly within the rhythm of the city.

 

Witnessing this changed something in me. It reminded me that life becomes richer when we allow ourselves to be in contact with its full spectrum.

During my time in Varanasi I volunteered at a local orphanage for girls.

We spent those months redesigning the space — repainting walls, reimagining rooms, and bringing more beauty and warmth into the interiors. Together we discussed colors, textiles, curtains, and how the rooms could feel more like home. It was such a formative experience.

 

Many of these girls had arrived there because of the complex realities surrounding gender in India. In certain communities, raising daughters can carry financial and social burdens related to dowries and cultural expectations. As a result, many girls grow up in orphanages. And yet, despite the harshness of these circumstances, what I encountered there was something incredibly beautiful.

 

The girls were curious, playful, and deeply loving. They wanted to know everything — about my family, my life, and what the world looked like beyond India. Their openness, their resilience, and their joy left a lasting imprint on my heart.

 

Working alongside them, imagining together how their home could look and feel, reminded me of something essential:

Beauty is not a luxury.

It is a form of care.

Varanasi is also a place where spiritual traditions converge.

 

Hinduism lives at its heart, but Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and many other traditions intersect here as well. Just a few kilometers from the city is Sarnath, where it is said that the Buddha gave his first teachings after enlightenment.

 

There is a feeling in Varanasi that many paths are being walked at once, yet they all circle around the same essential questions:

How do we live?
How do we die?
And how do we honor the sacredness of both?