Waterscapes in transition : past and present reshape of sacred water places in Banaras

The chapter deals with the overlapping of distinct epistemologies during crucial phases of transition of the urban waterscape of Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India). In particular, it focuses on the evolution and changes to ‘minor’ water places in the city by documenting the case of one of its sacred well, the Jñānavāpī. After tracing a general history of the urban waterscape through the integrated use of various sources, and detailing the history of the sacred well up to the present, the chapter shows how the element water creates confluences of diverse epistemologies. The interaction of different knowledge systems related to water during colonial time, and the not always inclusive results, will be highlighted. On the other hand, a critical analysis of current transitions of the urban landscape grounded on heritage discourses will show that the multiple perspectives on and of water, and their potential, are currently being discarded.