Psychological Perceptions of The Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor Among Varanasi's Creative Class: A Hermeneutic Inquiry

The Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor (KVDC) has changed Varanasi not only as a built environment, but also as a lived cultural landscape. Since its inauguration, public discussion has largely revolved around measurable achievements: higher visitor footfall, improved access to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, wider circulation routes, and increased tourism-linked economic activity. These indicators show a unidimensional result of this change. They do not adequately capture how the city’s traditional creative communities experience the corridor psychologically. This study investigates the psychological perceptions of Varanasi’s creative practitioners, including handloom textile weavers, Banarasi sari masters, visual artists, devotional sculptors, instrument makers, musicians, and writers. Using qualitative data gathered through in-depth discussions with creative stakeholders, study analysis philosophical hermeneutics to interpret how local creators make meaning of the spatial, economic, and cultural changes associated with the KVDC. The findings show that redevelopment in historic sacred cities cannot be assessed only through numerals, The psychological life of place matters. When interventions weaken the genius loci, they may disbalance the creative dispositions through which living heritage is sustained. The article suggests for a more holistic approach to urban redevelopment, which can integrate infrastructure with artisan well-being, cultural continuity, and the preservation of embodied creative traditions.