India, July 11 -- Poet-actor and lyricist Priya Malik had written about Varanasi long before she ever visited it. So when she finally reached the temple city in Uttar Pradesh for the first time, the journey felt like a full-circle moment. "Benaras aa kar meri kavita mukammal ho gayi!" gushes Priya, who was last seen in the web series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein. She adds, "I wrote the poem Tum Mujhe Benaras Mein Milna in 2022, and since then I have been trying to visit the city. I have always considered Varanasi and Srinagar to be my soul cities, and god-willing, I was fortunate enough to visit both this year." The poem, she recalls, was born from a city she had only seen on screen. "I had received an assignment to watch an ad film for a jewellery brand and write about their product line. I completed that task, but I ended up falling in love with the visuals of the city. The poem emerged from that deep admiration, and so did the desire to visit," she shares. Currently on an all-India show tour, Priya travelled to Varanasi by road from Lucknow. "We arrived for the Ganga aarti at 3.30am, and I was blessed to perform the aarti myself as well. I visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the Kal Bhairav Temple, and went on a delightful food trail," says the 39-year-old, who's now looking forward to her second song Adhoora for upcoming film Bun Tikki, and her debut book Ishq Ke Saat Padaav....