New Delhi, June 18 -- Varanasi, or Banaras as it was known earlier, is considered 'India's eternal city', given its sacred status in Hinduism. One of the oldest continually inhabited cities of the world, time itself used to stand still in its maze of narrow lanes, streets and alleyways.

Writer and journalist Suresh Pratap Singh remembers and reminisces about the Banaras of old, a time when tongas (horse-drawn carts) abounded in the city.

"There used to be 40-50 pedal rickshaws and tongas at every intersection. There was a tonga stand at the intersection in Godowlia, Varanasi's most crowded and congested area," Singh told Down To Earth (DTE).

But even as time has passed, Varanasi's appeal as a sacred location remains timeless. In fact, ...