Also, Varanasi liquor shops and smaller outlets in the city have a notorious reputation of selling counterfeit liquor and there are only a few established names which are trusted for genuine brands.
Among the few ‘genuine' standalone bars in this city, Yelchiko Bar and Restaurant is known as the oldest of the lot and used to be located in the crowded Godowliya area, which has got thousands of small and big shops and is close to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple and many nearby ghats.
However, this bar decided to re-locate itself to the more upmarket Sigra area more than a decade ago to catch on traders and upper middle class residents.
While there was no official version, the bar is said to be in business at least for more than three decades.
The local BJP leaders have hired the entire ground floor and one big apartment in a high-rise Seva Shree building in Sigra locality which happens to be opposite this bar.
The bars and restaurants of the high-end hotels in Cantonment area are also doing brisk business, as many senior leaders of various parties are staying there and meeting various kinds of people in these bars and restaurants.
Managers at some of these hotels said on condition of anonymity that the bills are getting mostly generated in the name of individuals and not the political parties and these rarely include any senior party leader even if they are present there.
According to legend, Varanasi was founded by Hindu deity Lord Shiva 5,000 years ago and is considered the oldest city in the world, though evidence of habitation only goes back to about 3,000 years.
