Varanasi: Holy River, Holy Sh*t

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Varanasi is considered one of the holiest places on earth by Hindus. It’s situated on the Ganga (Ganges) River, between the tributaries Varuna River and Assi River and this is how it’s name came to be. Hindus believe in reincarnation and the endless life-death cycle back to earth; however once enlightenment is achieved, the cycle is broken and heaven is where the enlightened are headed after death. After death Hindus are cremated and if you are one of those who has attained enlightenment, ideally you will be cremated at the Manikarnika Ghat on the Ganga and your ashes are sent down river with your spirit released from it’s painful cycle.

One might conjure up almost romantic images of an enlightened being, taken down to the river, his body washed in the holy river and then peacefully cremated, surrounded by his loved ones, and his ashes ceremoniously spread down river…but this is India and it doesn’t exactly happen like that…

Along with Manikarnika Ghat (a ghat is essentially a section of shoreline where concrete “steps” have been built down to the river) there are about another 80 ghats between the Varuna and Assi rivers, with a couple of them being “burning ghats”. While Manikarnika Ghat is reserved for the enlightened, the others are more or less open to those who can afford it (about $125 for the wood and your family does the rest); you might not get to heaven, but having your ashes cast upon the Ganga is good karma for your next life. What this equates to is cremations going on around the clock. Dead bodies, stacked between 750kg of Banyan wood, burning publicly along the shores of the holy river. (We heard numbers between 200-500 bodies a day - but it’s hard to get a straight answer.)

Are these public cremations shocking? Yes, initially, but it’s everything else that goes on in the river that really makes your jaw drop. Whether it’s men washing their buffalo, “laundry-whallas” washing clothes, mothers washing children, men going in for a “holy dip”, pilgrims collecting a jug of water to take home with them, men rowing “sight seeing” boats, or seeing the odd body of an animal or person pop up to the surface (if you are an animal or sick person - ie. leprosy - you are not cremated but tied to a rock and dropped to the bottom of the river), this river is a sight to be seen!

For Kelsey and I, walking the ghats along the river (it takes about 90 minutes from one end to the other) was quite enjoyable, as long as we stayed upwind from the ashes floating in the air. It was nice seeing all the people going about their day, selling food, playing cricket (yep, on the concrete steps, next to a river bank) and praying at the numerous Hindu temples that front the river. What was more shocking (if that’s even possible) was the state of the alleyways of the old town of Varanasi where our hotel was located. We stayed at a place called Hotel Alka, and it was pretty good considering the options and the price; and the location looked out onto the river, but it was quite the mission to find it navigating through the filthy alleys. Cow shit? Tonnes. Human shit? Defiantly. Stench of piss? Everywhere. Garbage? Burning. Washing dishes? On the street. Dogs? Packs of fleabags. Width of alley? Four feet. Motorbikes? Honking. People? Pushing. Dan and Kels? Wide-eyed!!! And those ten minutes of ronch y alleys was how we came and went from our hotel for the four days we spent in Varanasi…unfortunately neither of us can hold our breath for ten minutes!

Apart from our daily walks along the ghats, the highlight was taking an early morning rowboat along the river to see the sunrise. Although it was a chilly morning, the shoreline was busy with people giving praise to the river as the first rays of sun hit the water. From the water, in the boat, everything was much more peaceful and the new sun made the ghats explode with colour. We lit a floating candle and flower for my mom and sent it down river and enjoyed the two hours of peacefulness we had purchased by having ourselves rowed on the river by the capable and friendly Simon.

After four days we had as much holy and as much shit as we could handle and once again packed up and headed for the train station… next stop: Darjeeling!

Until next time…

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