Kashi Ka Assi by Kashinath Singh is an epic novel that brings out the life and times of Assi – a neighborhood on the southernmost ghat at Varanasi. It was the epicenter of life in Kashi – where people used to come and spend their ‘fursat’ or free time. There would be professors, student leaders, religious gurus who would consume their poison and speak their mind in a language that best describes their opinions and feelings. However, the onset of globalization and the opening up of the economy coupled with the rise of communal identity took away the free speech from the inhabitants of Assi. The foreigners who landed in Varanasi to either make it their home or to learn the ‘so-called’ Indian Culture. They ended up changing the very thing they came to Kashi for – including the very fabric of human relationships.