You might have had the pleasure of visiting Varanasi, probably even more than once. The holy city with its teeming crowds of people and endless lanes full of all kinds of things must have definitely left you a bit dazzled. But have you ever wondered how this heritage city with its colourful throngs of pilgrims and the Ganges flowing serenely looks from a couple of thousand feet above?
In November last year, I had the pleasure of beholding that sight as I floated above the spiritual city in a hot air balloon. That’s right. From November 17 to 19, 2021, the Varanasi Hot Air Balloon Festival was held during the auspicious occasion of Dev Deepawali. Mounted by Uttar Pradesh Tourism, the festival kicked off with much fanfare and was a sight to behold as colourful balloons dotted the sky in all their glory.
Taking Off
Waking up and reaching the allocated ground at 4.30 am felt like an adventure by itself. It was dark and chilly when we reached the ground from where the balloons had to take off. The crew was taking all kinds of safety precautions as they set about attaching the huge baskets to the balloons and filling them up with hot air with motorised fans. As the darkness started giving way to light, the balloons too started filling up and very soon, seven of us were in the basket with our pilot Hitesh. Answering all our excited queries and putting all our doubts to rest, our pilot explained how we were supposed to position ourselves during the landing. But before that, we took off with a gentle movement of the basket and very soon we were a couple of feet above the ground, watching the people below getting smaller and smaller.
Floating Above
To describe the next half an hour or so that we were floating above the city, is certainly a task because it is something to be experienced. Slowly but steadily, with the sun giving us company as it came up, our basket too went higher and higher. The haze of the fog was clearing and we could make out the fields getting even farther away. The other balloons in the air looked like colourful dots as we scanned the sky and took picture after picture with our mobile cameras.
The beautiful Ganges, which seemed much farther at one point, was very soon right below us. The ghats of the river had already started teeming with pilgrims, eager to take a dip in its holy waters. Bringing the basket down so that it hovered just a few feet above the river but never touching its sacred waters, Hitesh expertly maneuvered the hot air balloon so we could enjoy being so close to the river while admiring its bustling banks. A lone boat turned up from somewhere and at one point, it was just the sun, the boat on the gleaming river and another hot air balloon in the sky. It was magical, to say the least!
A Memorable Flight
Our excursion above the river coming to an end, the balloon rose up once more, this time heading straight above the residential areas situated near the banks. I have never felt as important as I did then, flying above those houses with kids and adults alike waving and smiling at us from below! We waved back happily, hoping for this flight to never end. But like every good thing, this also had to finish and so, the pilot looked for a clear field for us to make our landing. As easy as the taking off had been, the descent and the final landing was just as gentle. When it comes to memorable experiences, this is one that promises to be right up there with the best.
Words: Deepali Singh
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