Varanasi and its quirks

Last leg of my trip – hard to believe that in a couple of days I’ll be back home!

It’s been a whirlwind last couple of days, though, and as usual, nothing short of exhausting. After leaving Udaipur last Tuesday, we headed to Agra for a day (so that Kate, my travel buddy, could get a glimpse of the Taj Mahal). It was so much hotter than the first time I was there – it was all I could do to get myself out of the (slightly) cooler room and walk around in the stifling heat. But I’ve already gone over Agra, so I won’t bore you with a repeat (especially since there’s not that much, not including the Taj).

Then, we took an overnight train to Varanasi – also known as one of the holiest (if not THE holiest) city in India because of the Ganges River. Indians from all over the country (and overseas) come to Varanasi to wash the bodies of their dead loved ones and cremate them, to scatter their ashes back into the Ganges.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, as Varanasi is notorious for its’ touts and tourist scams (being similar to Delhi and Agra in that respect). I was unprepared to love it so much, despite the craziness and noise and overwhelming ambiance of the city.
When we arrived at Varanasi Junction (at least 5 hours late, miserable and hot and sweaty in the train) we were brought down to the old city to find our hotel, which was located amid the alleys and tiny streets. Because auto rickshaws aren’t allowed through the streets, our driver got out and led us on a 1 km walk through winding streets (in the heat, with our packs on – quite a workout!) until we reached our dingy, very shabby hotel.
The next morning, we got up to find the ghats. Ghats are the stairways leading down to the Ganges, and Varanasi has dozens of them along the banks of the Ganges. Certain ghats are known for certain things – the most famous being the Burning Ghats, where the bodies are purified in the water and then burned. Kate and I actually had the hardest time finding the ghats because of the alleyways – we couldn’t stop getting lost and had to be pointed in the right direction at least half a dozen times.
We finally located the elusive ghats. The best way to see them is simply to walk along the banks, and watch all the activities around the ghats. In a way, it’s a little bit like a boardwalk – except filthy and unhygienic. Varanasi was by far the smelliest city I’ve been in yet, and that’s saying a lot. There seemed to be animal excrement (and probably human as well) in every corner of every alley or in every nook of every building. Combined with the intense heat (it was well over 40 C) the smells were sometimes… overwhelming, to put it mildly.
Walking along the ghats allows you to see people doing their laundry, bathing, or just swimming for fun. There are boats that touts ply you with – “Boat ride, Madam, madam!” – and a myriad of other vendors selling touristy items.
But let me jump to the best part – the burning ghats. As tourists walking around, you will inevitably be “adopted” by a guide desperate to impart his knowledge, and, ultimately, get a nice tip from you (which you inevitably have to give). The other little payment comes from you in the form of a donation to the hospices, where you can buy wood that will be donated to poor families who cannot afford enough wood to burn their dead. If you don’t donate enough, the workers there will wring their hands and admit their worry for your karma – they only want to see you improve your own karma and if you don’t donate enough, well… the result is potentially unspeakable. I think it’s a good sign of how long I’ve been here that I remained unmoved by this dramatic, moving speech and held out on giving only 100 rupees (not enough for a full kilo of wood!).
However, we had the good chance of stumbling across a guide who talked to us for about 1 hour, and was just an amazing source of information. He took us up to a terrace where we could get a good view of several burnings going on and explained the process. We watched a family carry a body wrapped in red cloth to the riverbank, delicately lower it into the river until it was fully immersed, and then bring it back on land. Then, a pyre is built – there are 4 different kinds of wood that can be bought, the most expensive being sandalwood, costing a shocking 3 to 4 thousand rupees per kg, the cheapest being around 180 rupees per kg. Considering that around 20 kgs of wood are needed for the average adult body, these cremations cost small fortunes.
The family then continues the mourning process – the male relatives shave their heads and pray while the body is placed on the pyre. The pyre is lit by a flame from the Eternal Flame, a flame that has supposedly been burning for 4,500 years. The relatives (only the male relatives, the women are not allowed to watch the ceremony due to their emotional tendencies) watch as the body burns for several hours.
There are also different places for the bodies to burn if they were religious men or soldiers. Our guide brought us down to where a religious man’s body had just been cremated – the wood was still smouldering – and as another man came to clean out the area, washing it down with water, Kate and I were anointed in the flying ashes of the ex-religious man. I forced myself to see it as some kind of sign of blessing or good luck. It also apparently means that any ghosts, lions or tigers will smell the ash on us and never attack us. Interesting.
We were also encouraged to donate money for the hospices – shabby houses where old people come to die – to an old “Ama” who supposedly was good friends with Mother Teresa and knew Princess Diana. She was also, according to our guide, 118 years old, and still stood in the Ganges every day for 4 hours chanting mantras for the good of the Universe. Needless to say, she seemed unpleased with my meager donation of 50 rupees, thus lowering my view of her as the all loving woman. Oh, India.
The last interesting tidbit from this is that there are 4 types of people who may not be burned: children under the age of 10, pregnant women, anyone killed by a cobra and lepers. The first three are considered pure and therefore do not need to be burned, and lepers – probably due to health reasons. Instead, these people are tied to a wooden plank with coconut rope (doesn’t degrade in water) and are dropped into the Ganges.
Our guide said that occasionally a body will get detached and bob up to the surface. It really curbed my longing to jump into the water, despite the heat. Apparently on the other side of the Ganges, you can see bones.
Needless to say, Varanasi has a sort of ambiance and atmosphere that you won’t find in other places. There is such an emphasis on religion and karma, yet many of the same hypocrisies remain – for instance, as we were desperately trying to get to the train station to catch our train to Darjeeling (we were late, of course) we found ourselves ganged up on by all the taxi drivers so that we had to pay a higher price than we KNEW was fair. So frustrating, as always. Kate and I yelled at them, called them cheaters, threatened their karma, but to no avail. Sometimes India still gets the better of you, no matter how experienced you are.
I am now sitting in wonderful, lovely, hassle-free Darjeeling, up in the mountains of West Bengal. I think our trip to get here was the longest, most difficult yet (a five hour delay on our train, then trying to get a jeep up to Darjeeling from Siliguri was a nightmare) but we finally made it and are reveling in the genuine calm and goodness of the people here. It’s unlike any place in India that I’ve been, and I have not felt so relaxed and un-hassled since arriving here in January.
But that may have to wait for another entry… more thoughts to gather! Meanwhile, we leave here tomorrow afternoon, and I fly out to Delhi on Saturday before preparing for my final flight home…
Miss you all!