Greaves, Edwin: Kashi the city illustrious or Benares (Allahabad, 1909)

CHAPTER II.
BENARES IN 1909.

HAVING given a slight sketch of the past of Benares,
let us now look at the Benares of to-day. In
doing so it will be well not only to use our eyes,
but to avail ourselves of such information as may come
to us through the observation of others.

The city of the present time does not extend as far as
the River Barna, but only to the point where the Duffer-
in Bridge crosses the Ganges. To the south it extends
as far as the Assi. In the rainy season the Assi might,
by courtesy, be called a river, but for the greater part of
the year it is only a dry bed : in fact just where it joins
the Ganges the bed is scarcely discernible, it is about
level with the surrounding sand.

This long stretch of the city along the river front is
between three and four miles in extent. It is crescent-
shaped, and possibly there is not a city in the whole world
which presents a more picturesque appearance than
does Benares when viewed from the Ganges, or from the
Dufferin Bridge. This river-front aspect of the city must
have a chapter to itself.

The width of the city varies considerably. In the ex-
treme south it is very narrow, but increases as it extends