ll   VARANASI ... the famous folks  ll

 ll  The City  ll  The Geography  ll  The Climate  ll  The People  ll  The Culture  ll  The Lifestyle  ll  The Festivals  ll  The Handicrafts  ll  The Art and Architecture  ll  The Music and Dance  ll  The Famous Folks  ll  The Economy  ll  The Shopping  ll  How to get there  ll  The Ganga  ll  Places Of Interest   ll 

Many great men and women were born in Varanasi; a number of philosophers and profounder of religious faiths lived in or visited the city. Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh Guru and founder of the Akali Sect, and Ramananda, a great Vaishnavite preceptor, lived here, as was the heroic Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi; Raja Rammohan Roy, the great reformer, had his education here. Lords Mahavira and Buddha, founders of the two great religions, Jainism and Buddhism, visited here to preach their doctrines; Adi Sankara, the Hindu philosopher-saint, Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great advocate of the Krishna cult, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj; Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ram Teertha, all were in Varanasi at different times. Some compelling force drew all of them to Varanasi and they came, unable to escape the pull of the city. And today, the city continues to wield the same power over people humble and mighty, and each year, Varanasi welcomes millions of them as pilgrims, "a lengthy trail many of them never retrace".