The steps of the Dasaswamedh Ghat -- the most popular bathing ghat -- are also the most accessed by beggars who start arriving just before sunrise and sit in rows with plates, waiting for alms and food.
"They can make up to $20 a day through the change thrown into those plates," a regular at the ghat tells us. Quite symbolically, nearby is also an 18th century temple dedicated to the goddess of food -- Annapurna -- built by the Great Peshwa Bajirao I, the most famous prime minister to serve the Maratha rulers, who it is said never lost even one of the 36 battles he fought. Local lore says by the order of his queen, a thousand Brahmins used to be fed here every day.
"And now the hotels here provide multi-cuisine fare to tourists from around the world," says Ajit Kumar Yadav, a tourist guide and longtime resident of the city.
Of the many galis (lanes) winding in towards the ghat, there is one named after that hallmark North Indian snack -- the Kachori. Be it any hour of the day, you could be assured of the round, deep fried, cholesterol-packed savoury in Kachori gali.
Deeply linked with the cycle of life -- and death -- at the ghats, the gali also serves grief-stricken relatives who come to cremate their loved ones, providing food for those who break their fast after completing the last rites.
Photograph: Many sit at the ghats waiting for pilgrims to give them food and alms.
Also read: The battle that gave India away
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