Varanasi

This is the city of Shiva on the bank of the sacred Ganges. Also known as Benares, it is the place where heaven meets the earth. Dying here ensures freedom from karma and attainment of moksha-salvation. “Varanasi” comes from being between the two rivers Varuna and Assi. I stayed there Varanasi 3 days, the longest I was in any place during my time in India, so naturally it was my favourite. The airport is a long was from where I was staying with some Hindus who follow Jesus, so I was hoping my driver knew where he was going. Thankfully I connected with my friends there smoothly, heard more about their work in the city and joined in a gathering that night for singing, some dramas, and a dinner.
The next morning I walked up and down the ghats near the Ganges River, starting at Assi Ghat in the south. I stopped at one of the burning ghats to hear from one of the workers more about it. At their ghat they burn 70-80 bodies a day, 360kg of wood is needed for each body. They dip the body wrapped in white in the Ganges, pour water in their mouth five times, bring it back to shore and stack wood around the body. They walk around the pyre five times, once for each element-earth, fire, water, wind, spirit. The family will sit and wait for hours until the body is burnt, then gather the ashes and throw them in the river. Long ago, most of the ghats were owned by a maharaja or guru who purchased the land in order for their people to have a place to worship and do their ceremonies. This is how most of them attained their names and distinct character. People get up early to bathe and wash their clothes in the river. I won’t go into detail but the water is clearly not sanitary and I passed on going for a swim. Before leaving, I took a break under a tent overlooking the river to have some tea. It was a nice way to soak in my first viewing of the Ganges.
I hung out with my friends that afternoon at a nice pool in a hotel and had lunch. I felt spoiled on such a hot day to have that break. Sunday I walked for about 8 hours around the city. The journey started with a rickshaw ride to Shivala Ghat-Panchkot Court. I met a student from BHU, Banares Hindu University, which is the largest university in the country having on campus housing for all students-almost 20,000. The guy I met was studying computer science. We got to talking and he was excited to show me around the Golden Temple Market and the temple itself, which holds over 20 other temples inside. It was in the heart of the Old City, so the streets were narrow and the shops were busy. I needed to remove my sandals and leave my backpack behind to enter certain areas but having them stolen was a serious threat, so I found a small wooden box used as a locker I could pay Rs. 20 to use. They had tight security, mainly due to the mosques which were nearby. Apparently there has been some strife. After seeing the temples, he took me to his shop to look at kurta, lungis, scarves, and sarees. I searched through a large variety before choosing some and received a special discount. I enjoyed getting to know him, meeting his family, and being shown around the area. He helped direct me to Mother Teresa Guest House. It wasn’t very impressive but it was a peaceful, relatively clean place. It holds around 100 people. Mother Teresa is definitely venerated as a saint there.
From there I walked back down the ghats and met a journalist from Delhi. He was very intrigued to hear of my experience but did not give a formal interview. We talked about family, religion, and of course India. India is definitely a diverse place with thousands of languages, varied landscapes, and an ancient history. He and I walked down to Assi Ghat, took a rickshaw to BHU and parted ways. I briefly saw the university and then went to see the Sankat Mochan Mundir nearby. There were other temples nearby. It was hot, hot day so I was drinking lots of water and was glad to take a 10 minute break to sit in the shade with some tea, I could spare Rs. 5. I walked on past Vijay Cinema into more of the central part of the city. I was going to see some friends at an ashram later in the afternoon but didn’t know where so I thought I might as well kill sometime until I heard from them. When I finally called them, I found out I had several kilometres to walk. So I walked back up the ghats all the way to Gay Ghat, far in the north. As I weaved through the labyrinth of alleyways, I was reminded of the scene in Aladdin with him running from the guards over a loaf of bread. The satsung was much like what we do back in London with the dol, harmonium, tabla but they also had a new instrument to me, a shell used like a horn. I recognized quite a few of the bhajans. Afterwards we had tea and I walked back the ghats. I convinced a man, Simeon, the give me a boat ride down the river close to where I needed to go for only Rs. 80. We passed several torch light ceremonies and rituals along the way. Sadly I didn’t get very good photos. It was a long, full day but I loved having time to see more of the city’s character.
I flew from there the next day to Delhi and flew to London the next day-end of the trip. Feel free to comment and ask questions! I loved my time and would definitely go back.