Contributing author
Ashwini Gulati
Grew up in Banaras, now lives in Delhi, and still writes about it — in Hindi, about the lanes, the rain and the ghats. Akshay's brother, and a regular voice on this site.
Ashwini Gulati grew up in Banaras, and the city never really left his writing. His poems are small, close-up scenes: a window above an old lane, rain filling the street, the sound of the Ganga aarti carried from somewhere nearby. He lives in Delhi now, but Banaras is still the thing he writes towards.
His poem Mera Banaras ends with a line that could stand for the whole city: here, people are loved for their character more than their looks. Ae Banaras Mere Banaras crosses the river by boat and ends at Manikarnika Ghat, with a wish to return to the Ganga at the end of it all.
He is Akshay's brother, and his love for Banaras is the same love that started this Club. Writing is his way of saying what the rest of us tried to put into a guide.
Poems
Every piece is published exactly as it arrived, with the author's permission.