Short Story: Benaras

Vanditaa narrates a poignant story of rediscovering God amidst grief and loss.

Urmi watched her husband’s ashes being taken away by the river Ganga. The crematorial site at Manikarnika Ghat blazed at a distance on her left side. She wasn’t alone in her grieving. Yet, alone. Incense stick smoke and murmurs of prayers left the bank from multiple spots. Urmi sat on a huge step, looking longingly at the spot where she had left the remains of her beloved.

A man bathed along the riverbank as he sang a cheerful Bollywood song blaring on his phone. The singer was calling out to his love to spend her life with him. 

Urmi wasn’t listening to it. She couldn’t even pay attention to the other sounds at the Ghat. Instead, she was distracted by the thoughts in her head.