Old Varanasi

This is Varanasi, circa 1900 - my home in the 9th grade.

Those towering minarets belong to the Alamgir Mosque (also known as Beni Madhav Ka Darera), and they tell a heavy, complicated story of the past.

The structure was built by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. History remembers him as a fanatical, "macho" ruler; a stark contrast to his great-grandfather, Akbar, who was known for being incredibly egalitarian and tolerant.

The story goes that Aurangzeb, in his zeal, persecuted the Hindus and ordered the destruction of the original Hindu temple that stood on this very ground. He used the site to erect this mosque, leaving these minarets to loom over the Panchganga Ghat.