Varanasi is one of the 7 very sacred and holy cities is in Hindisum. Believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the country its religious legacy dates back to the 6th century BC. It draws in thousands of pilgrims to wash in the holy waters of the mighty Ganga (Ganges to us Brits) or receive blessings in one of its many temples on a daily basis. Like many other Indian cities this also attracts a cacophony of touts, sellers, shop keepers, masseurs, 'tour guides', boat owners, or guys who can offer you all of the services above, whether this is a personal skill of theirs or their brother may own the boat, their sister can do the massage (and henna you at the same time) and their cousin owns a restaurant.....
Despite all this crazyness going on I liked the atmosphere in Varanasi. The Stops hostel where I stayed had a nice mixture of both international and Indian tourists. It was within walking distance of all the main sites, so I didn't have to spend so much time arguing with tuk tuk drivers over 20p, and the streets in the old city are so small you only have to avoid motor bikes. For every mad market stall there was a calm corner with people performing some kind of ritual, and generally minding their own business amidst the chaos.
The second stop on my flying solo tour and I was starting to feel brave. I'd survived the over night train journey on my own.....I mean travelling alone rarely means you're actually on your own.....The train was packed with hundreds of other people. I was in a sleeper carriage and their were 5 other ladies in the same compartment as me. They all worked really hard to make sure I was warm enough, had eaten enough (mostly of their food), knew how to set up the bed, and make it properly, had a tea in the morning, knew there was a 3 hour delay, advise me on the price I should pay getting from the station to the hostel and the bests temples to visit in Varanasi. Having dumped my stuff at the hostel I welcomed their offer of a street map, but declined their advice about needing a guide and set of to the ghats in search of.....myself of course. If I was going to find spiritual enlightenment I felt sure Varanasi would hold the key.
I shouldn't jest because it was actually quite an overwhelming experience. I should have found the river just 10 minutes from the hostel, but ended up in the middle of the markets. I wandered around for a while, took a chance on a few back streets, and found myself even further off the map. As I emerged back into another market, and still not seeing the flowing river, a little embarrassed asked someone 'I know it's one of the largest in the world, but I'm struggling to find it...can you tell me where the river is please?!'
Lucky, who owned a shop, and a boat, knew a masseur, and had an uncle who owned a restaurant, kindly took me to the river! He pointed out lots of the different sites, named the different ghats and described to me the best times of day to a see different parts of the city. As we walked he pointed in the distance to the burning ghats, where cremation ceremonies take place, and asked if I wanted to walk there and take a closer look. He told me there were a group of volunteers who would show me round explaining the different rituals to me. I was a bit unsure really, I said I would like to go a little closer, but it felt a bit intrusive to have a tour of a such a personal, family ceremony.
However, and this seems to becoming a running theme, before I knew it I was chatting to one of the volunteers who was striding towards a burning body, assuring me the family didn't mind me being there as he launched into his full explanation. A ghat is simply a set of riverfront steps that lead down to the river. Most of them are used for bathing, or puja blessing, and there are 2 used exclusively for cremation. You are cremated at a different level depending on the caste you are from, and how much you can afford to pay for the cremation. As we walked further into the ghat I could see two bodies burning at the lower levels, and another in the middle. They are wrapped in cloth, and lying on a bamboo stretcher, but it is really clear they are people. I could see the cheek of one of the men lying there, as some of the fabric had started to burn loose around his face. I couldn't help but cry as I watched the male members of his family praying around him, even though I knew nothing about him.
It is a surreal experience. By the waters edge people are bathing. Mostly in preparation for attending a funeral themselves. It is customary for those attending the cremation to bathe in the Ganges first, followed by a hair cut and shaving in a small barbers just behind the burning ghat. The bodies are wrapped in different colours depending on what gender they are, red for a young woman, gold for an older married woman, and white for a man. The stretcher is then carried by the men through the back streets and to the river. Wood is weighed and purchased for the fire. It takes about 120kg to burn one body, and 1kg of the cheaper Banyan wood is 650 rupees (£6.50). The higher castes go for the more expensive with Sandalwood costing 2000 rupees per kg. Women are not allowed to attend the cremations, particularly of fathers or husbands. This is because they are likely to cry so hysterically they will disturb others, or become so hysterical they will jump on the fire with the body. I could kind of understand the logic as I sobbed my way into the temple that contained the fire.
None of the cremation fires are started with matches or a lighter. There is a small temple that contains a fire that was lit by Shiva. The fire has been burning for 3500 years, and will never be allowed to go out. It is surrounded by Sadhus tending to the fire and praying for the families. Each family takes a long sheath of dry reeds, or grass and a few small coals from Shiva's fire are placed in them to start the fire burning.
Coming out of the fire temple underneath a pile of firewood were a litter of puppies. It's not unusual to see stray puppies in India, but felt quite moving to see them sheltering in this area so focused on sorrow, and death. I finished my tour and was taken back to meet Lucky, he took me to the Blue Lassi shop....another tourist must, and just like that it's back to being a regular tourist....
The following morning I took a sunrise boat ride up the river, seeing a totally different side to the life of the river. From early morning there are holy rituals, praying and blessing. There are constantly people, especially at the waters edge bathing and cleansing themselves in the name of Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, or one of the many other Hindu gods. Candles are burnt and sent floating into the water to bring luck and happiness to those who light them. There are several 'Dhobi
Ghats' dedicated to clothes washing. It's hard to believe that you could clean laundry in a place with so many humans and animals bathing, and ashes floating past, but the Dhobi ghats smell really clean! I strolled for hours by the water, watching people and drinking chai.
Despite all this crazyness going on I liked the atmosphere in Varanasi. The Stops hostel where I stayed had a nice mixture of both international and Indian tourists. It was within walking distance of all the main sites, so I didn't have to spend so much time arguing with tuk tuk drivers over 20p, and the streets in the old city are so small you only have to avoid motor bikes. For every mad market stall there was a calm corner with people performing some kind of ritual, and generally minding their own business amidst the chaos.
The second stop on my flying solo tour and I was starting to feel brave. I'd survived the over night train journey on my own.....I mean travelling alone rarely means you're actually on your own.....The train was packed with hundreds of other people. I was in a sleeper carriage and their were 5 other ladies in the same compartment as me. They all worked really hard to make sure I was warm enough, had eaten enough (mostly of their food), knew how to set up the bed, and make it properly, had a tea in the morning, knew there was a 3 hour delay, advise me on the price I should pay getting from the station to the hostel and the bests temples to visit in Varanasi. Having dumped my stuff at the hostel I welcomed their offer of a street map, but declined their advice about needing a guide and set of to the ghats in search of.....myself of course. If I was going to find spiritual enlightenment I felt sure Varanasi would hold the key.
I shouldn't jest because it was actually quite an overwhelming experience. I should have found the river just 10 minutes from the hostel, but ended up in the middle of the markets. I wandered around for a while, took a chance on a few back streets, and found myself even further off the map. As I emerged back into another market, and still not seeing the flowing river, a little embarrassed asked someone 'I know it's one of the largest in the world, but I'm struggling to find it...can you tell me where the river is please?!'
Lucky, who owned a shop, and a boat, knew a masseur, and had an uncle who owned a restaurant, kindly took me to the river! He pointed out lots of the different sites, named the different ghats and described to me the best times of day to a see different parts of the city. As we walked he pointed in the distance to the burning ghats, where cremation ceremonies take place, and asked if I wanted to walk there and take a closer look. He told me there were a group of volunteers who would show me round explaining the different rituals to me. I was a bit unsure really, I said I would like to go a little closer, but it felt a bit intrusive to have a tour of a such a personal, family ceremony.
However, and this seems to becoming a running theme, before I knew it I was chatting to one of the volunteers who was striding towards a burning body, assuring me the family didn't mind me being there as he launched into his full explanation. A ghat is simply a set of riverfront steps that lead down to the river. Most of them are used for bathing, or puja blessing, and there are 2 used exclusively for cremation. You are cremated at a different level depending on the caste you are from, and how much you can afford to pay for the cremation. As we walked further into the ghat I could see two bodies burning at the lower levels, and another in the middle. They are wrapped in cloth, and lying on a bamboo stretcher, but it is really clear they are people. I could see the cheek of one of the men lying there, as some of the fabric had started to burn loose around his face. I couldn't help but cry as I watched the male members of his family praying around him, even though I knew nothing about him.
It is a surreal experience. By the waters edge people are bathing. Mostly in preparation for attending a funeral themselves. It is customary for those attending the cremation to bathe in the Ganges first, followed by a hair cut and shaving in a small barbers just behind the burning ghat. The bodies are wrapped in different colours depending on what gender they are, red for a young woman, gold for an older married woman, and white for a man. The stretcher is then carried by the men through the back streets and to the river. Wood is weighed and purchased for the fire. It takes about 120kg to burn one body, and 1kg of the cheaper Banyan wood is 650 rupees (£6.50). The higher castes go for the more expensive with Sandalwood costing 2000 rupees per kg. Women are not allowed to attend the cremations, particularly of fathers or husbands. This is because they are likely to cry so hysterically they will disturb others, or become so hysterical they will jump on the fire with the body. I could kind of understand the logic as I sobbed my way into the temple that contained the fire.
None of the cremation fires are started with matches or a lighter. There is a small temple that contains a fire that was lit by Shiva. The fire has been burning for 3500 years, and will never be allowed to go out. It is surrounded by Sadhus tending to the fire and praying for the families. Each family takes a long sheath of dry reeds, or grass and a few small coals from Shiva's fire are placed in them to start the fire burning.
Coming out of the fire temple underneath a pile of firewood were a litter of puppies. It's not unusual to see stray puppies in India, but felt quite moving to see them sheltering in this area so focused on sorrow, and death. I finished my tour and was taken back to meet Lucky, he took me to the Blue Lassi shop....another tourist must, and just like that it's back to being a regular tourist....
The following morning I took a sunrise boat ride up the river, seeing a totally different side to the life of the river. From early morning there are holy rituals, praying and blessing. There are constantly people, especially at the waters edge bathing and cleansing themselves in the name of Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, or one of the many other Hindu gods. Candles are burnt and sent floating into the water to bring luck and happiness to those who light them. There are several 'Dhobi
Ghats' dedicated to clothes washing. It's hard to believe that you could clean laundry in a place with so many humans and animals bathing, and ashes floating past, but the Dhobi ghats smell really clean! I strolled for hours by the water, watching people and drinking chai.
No comments:
Post a Comment