Brahmins, boat trips and yet more Buddists

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Dawn boat trip on the Ganges at Varinasi

An early start saw us taking a boat trip on the Ganges to watch the morning bathing at the Ghats at Varinasi. People come from all over India on pilgrimage to this sacred spot to get a purifying dip in the holy Ganges river. Locals too come down to the steps that lead down to the water's edge to wash and even clean their teeth. Knowing how polluted this river is makes it all the more fascinating to watch. We had a local guide with us which I'm afraid annoyed me with his constant droning. I would have much preferred to take it all in peacefully and quietly, enjoying the scene unfolding in front of me - THEN ask questions afterwards. Finally he shut up and read his paper and we got to enjoy the sun rise in peace.

We saw all sorts of people from young to old, from rich to poor all immersing themselves in the water. Some swimming quite a long way out, while other just dipped in from the steps that went down into the water. We saw men from the highest, Brahmin caste - identified by a thin cotton sash across their chests and a tiny piece of longer hair at the back of their heads. Further along we saw men washing clothes at special spots by raising the clothing up over their heads then twacking it down on the stones.

Even further down we came to the site where bodies are cremated. Huge piles of wood were waiting to be added to the separate piles where bodies were being cremated. These fires are usually stoked by the eldest son. When the skull cracks the person is said to gain liberation from life. Apparently not all people are cremated. There are four categories: lepers, young children, pregnant women and those who died from snake bites. These were unable to purify their bodies before death and so cannot follow the same cycle. This is my limited understanding of the whole process so I may not quite have understood things properly. It is all so different to how things are back home.

After the boat trip we were taken on a tour through the very narrow (and VERY stinky) back streets of old Varanasi where every other doorway houses a temple or shrine to Lord Shiva. There are lots of cows wandering freely around these tiny alleyways and we had to squease past quite a few (and step over the yuck they left behind them). After some hefty security checks involving having to leave ALL our belongings with Manu and being frisked, we were taken to the top of a nearby shop to get a view of a golden temple - the main Shiva temple of Varinasi. It has a gilded dome and could be very beautiful if it wasn't for its surroundings. There was a building site right next to the temple and rubbish, grafiti and advertising signage all around the site. A strange mix of religion and commerce.

Sarnarth

Later in the day we went to another pilgrimage site for Buddhists, Sarnarth which is the place where Buddha gave his first sermon. We looked around the temple site first and were immediately surrounded by hoards of Japenese tourists taking hundreds of photos of the few Buddhist monks who were there, who were taking photos of all of us tourists!! It was a bizzare sight. It was such a hot day that I couldn't bare to just hang around and went off with equally frazzled Matt to take a look around the gardens and archaeological site. We found a bit of shade under a tree and sat and chilled for a bit while the others were looking around a museum.

Evening ceremony at Varanasi

In the evening, on the recommendation of both Manu and Charlotte (who had seen it before) we set off to the bathing ghats area again to watch a religious ceremony that happens every night. We took our first rickshaw ride which was hilarious, bumping, rocking and swerving wildly to avoid what seemed to be inevitable crashes. At the ghats we had to pretend not to know Manu and go and sit in our seats looking down over the ceremony area. If Manu had been seen by the police acting as our guide he would have been in big trouble as only official guides are allowed. Very cloak and dagger.

When the ceremony finally began it was well worth the wait. 7 priests stood on platforms and performed a ritual routine with inscense, bells, music, flaming torches and fans. It was so atmospheric, heightened by the stormy skies that were the backdrop. Lightening flashes lit up the darkening sky across the Ganges as the ceremony went on. All too soon it was over and we took the white knuckle rickshaw ride back to our hotel.

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Photos

Lighting the candles
Sammy

Manu reading the paper!
Guess he's seen it all before