In 2013, while on a bike ride to Allahabad (Prayagraj) for the Maha Kumbh, I made an unforgettable detour to Varanasi after visiting my father at the Sirmour hydro plant in Rewa. The ghats of Varanasi, with their ancient steps leading down to the sacred Ganga, are an iconic sight, though the unclean state of…