By S.T. Ravikumar
Kashi, one of the sacred pilgrimage centres in the country also called Varanasi or Benares, has a special place in the hearts of Mysureans as the then Maharaja of Mysore had built a guest house there in the early part of the last century. The Karnataka Government took over this guest house quite some time back and has renovated it now. The guest house is situated at Varanasi’s Hanuman Ghat on the banks of Ganga River. Varanasi is the constituency represented by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Karnataka Government has handed over this guest house run by the Kashi Karnataka Sangha to the Muzarai Department. The then Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar had constructed this 24,000 sq.ft. guest house on the banks of the Ganga River in 1920 for the benefit of the pilgrims travelling to Kashi from Karnataka. In another three years, Karnataka guest house will be celebrating its centenary. Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar would visit Kashi once in a year and he would stay in the same guest house. Climbing down 50 steps, he would be having the sacred bath in the Ganga River. Even today, the underground path that the Maharaja took to the river is maintained as-is, said the Manager of the Guest House S.M. Venkateshmurthy, himself a Mysurean, speaking to Star of Mysore.
