Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the oldest in India. The city is the beating heart of the Hindu universe, a crossing point between the physical and spiritual worlds, and the Ganges is viewed as a river of salvation, an everlasting symbol of hope to past, present and future generations. Once in every lifetime an observant Hindus prepare to make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Varanasi. Some come to wash away sickness and sin in the Ganges River. Others bring their dead to be burned. Still others come to live their last days here, die and be cremated which in Varanasi guarantees eternal release from the cycle of birth and death.
