Kunal Sinha's A Banarasi on Varanasi is an "insider's perspective"

"My voyage of discovery in Varanasi began as I started writing the book." Coming from someone who has spent much of his childhood and adolescence growing up in the holy city, an admission such as this might surprise. Then again, perhaps, therein lies the mystique of Varanasi.

For if it took a true-blue Banarasi like Kunal Sinha to cast an academic eye to uncover, layer by layer, the charms that Varanasi cradles, in all probability the real romance of the city would be all but lost to a casual observer or everyday tourist. And that is why adman Sinha's second book, A Banarasi on Varanasi, is recommended reading. The book - which comes two years after the author's first book, An Ordinary Traveler - was launched at Oxford Bookstore, Mumbai, late yesterday evening by Piyush Pandey, executive chairman & national creative director, O&M India.

A Banarasi on Varanasi, Sinha (vice-president - Discovery, O&M India) revealed at the launch, was conceived when the publisher of his first book (Jayanta Bose of Bluejay Books, an imprint of Srishti Publishers & Distributors) asked him whether he could write a book on Varanasi, which would provide readers an "insider's perspective" of the holy city. The suggestion, though interesting, was also daunting, as the city had already been celebrated by a host of eminent scholars and writers such as Richard Lannoy, Diana Eck, Bradley Hertel, Arthur Parker, the Reverend MA Sherring. "My book had to be different. The challenge before me was to ensure I wasn't repeating them, that I wasn't revisiting their memories," Sinha said.

The Banaras Hindu University graduate spent one full year making trips to the city, "to get a feel and flavour" of the place and its people. "Varanasi is quite an overwhelming city. Love it or hate it, you will be swept away by its colour, noise, and religious fervour. I explored the city on foot and on bicycle, during the hot May summer. I got drenched in the August rain… I found temples that were tucked away inside the galis, and chatted with their priests. I asked my oldest friend in Varanasi to put me in touch with the master craftsmen who make the Banarasi sari, and explored the heart of the sari-making mohalla of Jaitpura. I watched the Ramlila at Ramnagar, across the river…" The result is the 276-page book, which explores the city's way of life through its akhaaras, its famed paan shops, its Banarasi sari tradition and its older-than-time relationship with the all-absolving ‘Ganga Maiya'.

Speaking at the launch, Pandey said that it was ironical that most Indians know little about Varanasi, while many foreigners know so much about the city and its heritage. "Varanasi is a lovely city, and this book is a great example of how Kunal is still in touch with his roots and the environment that he was brought up in," he said. "It is a proud moment for all of us who have known Kunal, and I hope this marvelous piece on Varanasi will be an inspiration to all of us to go and explore our roots."

Sinha - who won the WPP Atticus Grand Prix in 1996 for his paper ‘Communication Effect - A Reevaluation of Beliefs', and is a columnist for a prominent business publication - says that writing comes to him naturally. "Writing interests me, and I write regularly and extensively." His first book, incidentally, was a travelogue on South Asia, and he admits that the ‘quasi travelogue' genre interests him. "I see writing as a way of capturing the images and culture of a place. It's a means of putting down the experiences of people and places." Interestingly, he does not see the possibility of succumbing to the temptation of writing on advertising. "In some ways, it is a double life that I lead. And anyway, what I write on is my observations of and insights into people, which is connected to the discipline of advertising (planning and consumer insights) I am associated with." © 2004 agencyfaqs!