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Ok, I am back in India now! After a massive and cold 30 hour train journey from the pleasantly warm climate of Mumbai I finally arrived in a freezing Varanasi at dawn yesterday. Varanasi is on the Ganges, a river that sources far up in the Himalayas and flows eventually out into the Bay of Bengal through Bangladesh. It is a very large city of over 1 million people with the main attraction to the countless tourists being the Ghats. The Ghats and the Ganges really are very beautiful and colourful, it is like a being in another world and is best seen along with all other visitors at sunrise from a boat. Varanasi is a very holy and spiritual place for Hindu's, they believe that by bathing in the Ganges their sins will be cleansed. Put simply, the Ghats are steps down to the river, there are over 100 of them along a 5km stretch of river bank. Each has a different design and purpose and is used by different castes and so on. The Hindu's believe the Ganges has magical properties so much so that in addition to bathing in it daily some people brush their teeth in it, others even going as far as to drink it! It is however filthy containing chemicals and much rubbish. As well as being a very important place for worship it is also an important place to die. Many Hindus from all over India come here to die as they believe that if they pass away here and undergo the correct ceremony they will not be reincarnated and their spirit will not live on in a physical form. This is very public. Of the many Ghats there are two so called "burning" Ghats. When a person dies their body is wrapped in silks and cloths from their family and they are carried down to the Ganges and bathed in it's waters. Thereafter they are taken back up to the bank and openly cremated using a variety different woods depending on the quality the family can afford. The eldest son of the family lights the fire by taking an ember from the eternal fire who Shiva (the main god of Hinduism) was sited to have started over 3,000 years ago. Soon after the cremation has started he breaks a vessel of river water over his right shoulder and walks away not looking back thereby releasing his parents' spirit from reincarnation to transcend to spiritual enlightenment. It is a very interesting and in some ways chilling ceremony to observe, nevertheless it is very moving. There are many cremations going on at any one time. These ceremonies are conducted 24 hours a day. The Ganges literally tells a story of how spiritual the Indians are, the proximity of life and death being so entwined and close to daily life here. I also met some very nice people here from all over Europe but am glad to be moving onto Nepal to trek and see the Himalayas.

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Comments

[Robert Chuck]

Is that it?
Rob, In comparison to your previous entries, this is pitiful. The spiritual home of Hindus and you can only write a few paragraphs, come on son get your finger out. obvioulsy I ma hardly jealous at all that you are swanning your way around the world. Enjoy yourself, life only goes down hill after you reach 97, all the best Robert

[Jane Sherlock]

It all looks very serene. I am sure its not though. The Ghats must have been awe inspiring. Perhaps too overwhelming to be able to write as much as others might consider fitting.