Performers Without Borders has been an amazing way to spend my spring, and Varanasi has been a great place to spend my February. It’s beautiful, colorful, noisy, and alive.
Mornings often start on the ghats of Varanasi. Built along the Ganges river, Varanasi has dozens of different named ghats, or steps down to the river. All are unique: some have shops, some have laundry areas, while others are reserved for cremations.
Located on the western side of the Ganges, Varanasi is renowned for it’s sunrises when the buildings along the ghats are bathed in a golden glow.
No morning is complete without a stop by your favorite chai shop. Seriously, I’ve never met anyone who loves anything as much as Jules loves chai.
The team spends three mornings a week working with the kids at Duniya. We taught a variety of circus arts, and spent our last day there working on some face painting. We were impressed with both Xander’s and the kids’ artistic talents!
Group photos after face painting at Duniya. Look at those happy kids and colorful circus artists!
Our other mornings are spent at Jeevan school. This group of well-behaved kids had a particular love for diabolo and surpassed our skills within a couple sessions.
Every afternoon we head down to Asha Deep to work with the children there. As our primary project, we spend a lot of time with those children and have been working hard to prepare them for their annual show.
Children of all ages and talents get to participate in the annual Asha Deep show. These little clowns love circus and especially contact juggling!
We don’t have many days off here, but the ones that we do are amazing. Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in the world and full of temples and art. It’s a magical place that becomes even more magical when viewed from the PwB perspective!
-Daniel McGuire
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