Hello India! Part 7- Varanasi

Beautiful early morning light on the Ganges

Art work on the banks of the Ganges

A child washing dishes in the Ganges

I arrived in Varanasi, the greatest of Hindu cities, from Rishikesh. An epic journey- my longest in India - partly due to it being the slow train, 22 hours in total. 

Varanasi, also known as Benaras, stretches along the crescent of the river Ganges, and it's ghats ( steps to the water) are the most famous in India and where thousands come to bathe in its waters daily. Known to devotees as Kashi ( City of Light) and founded by Lord Shiva, Varanasi is one of the most continuously inhabited  and oldest cities in the world. 

It is also famous for its 'burning ghats', where bodies are cremated before the ashes scattered in the sacred river. Anyone who does in Varanasi attains instant enlightenment do many elderly come here to live out their final days. 

I was in Varanasi at the time of the festival to Lord  Shiva ( mentioned in my Rishikesh blog) so the narrow alleyways full of people and animals, were even more cramped and tight than normal as devotees crowded through on their way to the holy '  Vishwanatha or Golden Temple' . The back streets are not always easy to navigate as piles of rubbish are strewn everywhere, animals  - dogs, pigs, buffalos and the ever present cows - wandering and picking through the rubbish.  Cow dung was an ever present problem too, having to dodge it that is. And on the monsoon rain, it created rivers of very nasty water to wade through. Nice. 

On arrival at the station, I managed to avoid the notorious touts and auto rickshaw drivers by contacting my choice of accommodation - Shanti Guesthouse ( near the Manikarnika or Burning Ghat) - and insisting that they collected me ( Alex who I had met in Rishikesh had recommended I do this) and therefore ensuring a 'free' auto rickshaw ride, something I had never received before and didn't expect to again!  It was a sound choice, my room was clean ( although without a window) and the guesthouse provided free Ganges boat trips at sunrise and sunset, and I got up early the next morning for the 5am trip to see the ghats come to life as the sun rose.

After checking in and showering, the light of the day was fading so I decided before dark to explore the immediate area. Marnkarnika Ghat, as I mentioned previously, is the 'burning' ghat and as its name suggests, it is the main cremation ground. Burnings happen all day and night, and bodies are carried through the narrow alleyways to the ghat, constantly. It was easy to find yourself in he midst of a burial procession in this area. As I arrived, the ghat was busy with funeral parties and those involved in building the fires ( there are stacks of logs everywhere- being delivered on boats, being stacked or prepared for a pyre, alongside the Doms - the Untouchable guardians facilitating the process of the final release). There were all sorts of people hanging around - those offering to talk you through the proceedings, insisting they were not 'guides', people clearing the scenes of fires or building new ones and the ever present cows, dogs and circling birds. 

It was a fascinating scene and I was to revisit a few times, seeing bodies cremated so publicly is not something we are used to. I saw one very clearly, its head visible as the lower half of the body burned. Relatives do not cry so the scene felt strange. I saw two men of the funeral party passing a mobile phone whilst dogs scampered and scavenged amongst the ashes of the burning body. All around preparations were being made for another burning as a body had arrived, shrouded in material and shiny orange and gold paper, the remnants and remains of these were scattered in the filth and debris all around and up to the edges of the water. The smell is not an unpleasant one as you would expect as the bodies are doused in oils, particularly sandalwood. I did notice some recycling taking place too as the bamboo used to make the  stretchers carrying the corpses were being collected to be used again. 

On the early morning boat trip on the river, I met fellow travellers who I was to spend time with over the next 24 hours. I did a walk all the way down to the southern Asi Ghat with two Irish girls. I have included pictures of some of the things we saw and people we met en route. We went into the narrow alleyways beyond the ghats to explore the Old City and found old temples , stalls, shrines, linghams and paintings on walls amidst cows literally everywhere. We had lunch at the wonderful Brown Bread Bakery Restaurant and Organic Shop which supports a children's charity and women's project from its profits. I have included a link. 

Amidst the narrow lanes of the Old City is the Vishwanatha or Golden Temple. Closed to foreigners, you were able to glimpse the gold plating on its massive shikhara (spire). It is heavily guarded ( even more so due to the shiva festival - I heard tales of women scratching each other in attempts to get in ) and there were chaotic scenes at the narrow entrance. It has a troubled history due to its close proximity to a mosque- which too has to be heavily guarded to prevent attacks from Hindu fanatics of which there seemed to be many in town! I got a good vantage point to view the proceedings of youths clad in orange chanting down the narrow alleyways, a man informed me that in the last ten years there have been many outbreaks of terrorism and ethnic violence between Hindus and Muslims in this area.

My last evening in Varanasi ( and India proper as I would be travelling the next two nights) was a special one. Along with the people I had met at Shanti and a group of four Irish travellers, we congregated at the waterside or Lotus ceremony performed at the end of the day on the banks of the Ganga. It was quite something to see the rituals that are so important to Hindus in this most sacred of cities. 

We finished the evening back at Brown Bread and chatted about places we had been, shared experiences and traded tips for other cities- for me it was great to pick up some some information for the last two places on my itinerary, Bodhgaya and Calcutta. 

I told those assembled that it was my last night in India, and apart from Hong Kong, pretty much the last of my trip and I was asked to share the highlights and what I'd learned in my journey. It was a great night with good people and although low key, one I won't forget. My journey was almost at an end.

Next stop: Bodhgaya then Calcutta ( Kolkarta) 

www.brownbreadbakery.com

Walking along the ghats brought many beautiful photo opportunities

Pilgrims in Varanasi

My last night in India, with fellow travellers at the brown Bread cafe

Hello India, Part 6 - Rishikesh

Some of the amazing artwork at the Beatles ashram

Pilgrims worshipping the god shiva in Rishikesh

Worshipping the god Shiva

At the Beatles ashram

I arrived in Rishikesh following an overnight bus journey from Dharamsala.  For the first time there were other Westerners on the bus and I used this to my advantage when we arrived at our destination.  What I had been aware of, but had not quite comprehended, was the fact that there was a big festival happening in Rishikesh, to the Hindu god, Shiva. The evidence of this was apparent from the outset, as roads were closed and huge numbers of mainly men in orange tee-shirts were everywhere. I shared a rickshaw with two Australian girls to the area of Rishikesh where most backpackers head,   Lakshmanjhula. 

Rishikesh lies north of Delhi on the sacred Ganges river. It is the centre of all manner of Hindu and New Age activity and has many ashrams, attracting devotees from far and wide. It is also a stopping off point for many religious men, swamis and sadhus on their way to the Himalayas. The Beatles came here in 1968 to meet the Maharishi Yogi and put it firmly on the map. They spent time here during which they wrote much of the material that ended up as 'The White Album'.

Today, as in Dharamsala, there are a huge range of courses available and I was determined to do some yoga classes which I looked into straight away. Although it advertised it as 'traditional Indian yoga', the use if props and precision of the poses were familiar to me from practicing Iyengar yoga in the past. I did a couple of very enjoyable early morning sessions. A great way to start the day!

I enjoyed my couple of days in Rishikesh very much. It was very hectic in the streets as the pictures show, and you could not walk anywhere without being photographed countless times whether knowingly or unknowingly. In fact, when we left yoga each morning, we were positively mobbed! However, despite the craziness in the streets we managed to escape to the calmness of Bombay Guesthouse which had a lovely courtyard in which to relax. I became friends with Alex and Antoine, as well as the Australian girls, and it was good to have a group to hang out with and have dinner. I also met Scotty, from Hartlepool ,who had been travelling in India for the last five years. He had a motorbike and drove Alex and I to the Beatles ashram. The ride, through streets thronged with the pilgrims, was particularly memorable and as you can imagine, we must have made quite an impression. At the Beatles ashram itself, Alex and I spent a couple of hours taking in the atmosphere of what once must have been quite something. Today, it is no longer a working ashram and has largely fell to ruin. Nevertheless, the sprawling grounds have retained a spiritual harmony and some areas- like the meditation hall- have become shrines in themselves. See the pictures which show some of the art work we saw. We played some tracks from the Beatles' White album- much of which they wrote when they were here- which made it extra special. And at the end we stumbled upon two people who had painted a tribute to George Harrison in the individual dome shaped structure he had used for personal meditation. They had just finished as we took a look at their work, had a chat, whilst the Beatles played from their laptop. 

Rishikesh was a place I could easily have stayed for longer but for my time really was getting down to the last few days and I managed ( with some difficulty due to the Shiva festival) to book a train for Varanasi, the spiritual home of Hinduism.

Next stop: Varanasi 

Pilgrims dressed in orange to the god Shiva

A monkey at the ashram

One of the meditation huts at the ashram