Hot air balloon suddenly lands in Sigra in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Varanasi (UP): The sudden landing of a hot air balloon in the Sigra area of Varanasi has left the children of the area awestruck. The video of the landing has surfaced on social media. People could be seen shouting with joy when the air balloon landed. They touched the balloon and closely looked at it for hours.

A four-day hot air balloon festival called Kashi Balloon was organized in Varanasi from the 17th to the 20th of January. A series of 10 balloons with top balloonists from six countries have taken flight over its eponymous ghats, where the guests witnessed the climactic rituals, Kashi's landlocked temple scape, and the dramatic throng of pilgrims taking their redemptive dips in the holy river.

This was followed by a boat racing festival that aimed to take the cultural landmark of Varanasi, its fabled 'Naukas' or boats and package it in the form of a unique adventure sport for the high-end, contemporary traveler. Twelve Teams of professional boat rowers and traditional boatmen have trained to navigate the Naukas, the flow and snarls of Ganga in a four-day racing event that aimed to become a landmark event in the future for travelers.

The event also hosted top international and nationally acclaimed indie/folk musicians like Nathu Lal Solanki, Prem Joshua, Kabir Cafe, and Kashi's homegrown talent Sukhdev Prasad Mishra on Rajghat every evening, open for the public to immerse in the soulful music. There were a host of other activities like a photography exhibition by acclaimed photographers of the city, that was on display in Rajghat followed by an array of several art and painting competitions for Kashi's artistic soul that spilled over on canvas for the world to see. 

Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, on this occasion, said that the ancient city of Kashi has many alternate perspectives and transformative experiences that need to be packaged and branded for the new-age traveler. This new offering will add yet another experience for the tourist and will make Varanasi the top destination for many premium and high-value tourists from across the world.