Benares

by E.B.Havell

Benares represents the essential quality of India. Havell's book is almost a flawless tour guide of the present day Varanasi which has changed very little and still retains its charisma for those who search for ancient India. The book is an attempt to give a lucid outline of Hindu ideas and religious practices. It presents the innovative and aesthetic aspects of Indian religions, which can be observed at few places so well as in the sacred city and its neighborhood. The book, it is hoped, will give an idea of the extraordinary cultural richness of Benares and at the same time will be more illuminating than ordinary books of travel.REVIEW:"A remarkable city, more entirely and characteristically Eastern than any which I have yet seen." --BISHOP REGINALD HEBER