My Jackie Moments
Many say Varanasi is the oldest city in the world. Most say it’s the oldest city in India. Mark Twain says, “Banaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” My one memory of the city is going there as a young boy, not to see Varanasi but to see Jacqueline Kennedy who was visiting. I joined the small crowd at the ghat where she was to take a boat on the Ganga, and as soon as she got out of her car I shouted “Jackie!” at the top of my voice, loud enough for her to be startled and wave to me. That led to my second memorable Varanasi moment, a letter Time magazine published. “I had to travel 250 miles to see Jackie Kennedy,” the letter went, “and, gosh, was it worth it!”
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