graffiti has always meant rebellion for me! mumbai proved me wrong. walls were covered with the permission of the residents of that house / building. read more about my discovery of graffiti in bandra. but still, graffiti didn’t become ‘acceptable’. it has always had that streak of mischief embedded. so, varanasi and graffiti” in the same breath, didn’t seem possible to me. afterall, varanasi is one of the holiest cities in india!

when i visited last september, i was simply put – blown away!

it also made me think… what was graffiti but paintings or expressions of a society on empty spaces. and across india, empty spaces were always canvases. we still have all those ads that are painted on the walls that line the railway tracks – in most cities in india. if you were to look at that as the beginning of street art in india, then well we’ve had this for a long, long time!

what is so interesting about graffiti in varanasi? there is also religious or mythology based graffiti! piqued your curiosity? om namah shiva!

let’s go on a tour of some of the images i saw on the streets and along the ghats of varanasi.

there was also a lot of non-religious or mythology based graffiti and what we might be tempted to call ‘true graffiti’! take a look.

i suspect this is but the tip of a wonderful iceberg that spreads all over the city. go on, find your own graffiti at varanasi.

merry travelling.