The story
Dev Deepawali Varanasi in Varanasi
On Kartik Purnima evening, ghat committees in Varanasi line the Ganga's stone steps with clay oil lamps, a tradition begun at Panchganga Ghat in 1985 and now spread across dozens of ghats citywide. Believed to mark the night the gods descend to bathe in the river, the festival is best viewed from a boat, where the full length of lit riverfront becomes visible at once.
On the evening of Kartik Purnima, ghat committees along the Ganga in Varanasi line the stone steps of dozens of ghats with rows of clay oil lamps, a practice that traces to a modest lamp-lighting begun at Panchganga Ghat in 1985 and has since spread the length of the riverfront.