Leaving Varanasi...

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The past couple of days in Varanasi have seemed almost dull, as there haven’t been any issues dealing with issues at hand. Maybe I’m getting acclimated. I was on the Sunday morning train out of Lucknow. I got into Varanasi about 3:30 PM. I had a minor detour in getting a hotel - due to bad advice at the Tourist Information. Nevertheless, I found a nice hotel (Suyra) for about $8.50standartd room (deluxe ones weren’t available) and settled in for three nights. This hotel is all the three Cs, that is, clean, comfortable and cheap!

On Monday, I hired a bicycle rickshaw guy for the day. I went all over the city and saw several temples: Durga (18th century - not allowed inside), Tulsi Manas (1964 - white marble with a Disney-like character acting out Hindu scenes), the “monkey temple” (I have no idea what it’s real name is but the monkeys like it) and the new Visvanath Temple (1966 - one of the few open to all religions and all castes). I also saw the Banaras Hindu University whose campus seems like an oasis in the middle of this noisy busy city! On campus, I also went to its museum (Bharat Kala Bhavan) where there was an excellent display of very old miniature paintings.

That evening I went to see the religious burning of the dead bodies. The guy who ran the hospice there gave me a personal tour. It seems that most Hindus want to have there bodies burnt here to release their sins and their spirit into the most holy River Gages. But there are 5 types of bodies that will not be burnt. They are children (under 13) who are considered innocent already, pregnant woman who bear the innocent, holy men, leprosy victims (leprosy is seen as a sign of the god) and victims of cobra poisoning. The bodies of all of these but the cobra victims are tied to a stone and still put in the river. The poor cobra victims are put on a type of raft and remain there unless cleanse by a holy man!

Okay then, for the actual fire, a male member of the family is chosen to do the burning. This is very involved as he must be completely shaven and cleaned before and cannot touch another people for 10 days after. The fire is made up of only scared banyan wood. There are about 60 kilos involved at about $6.00 a kilo - not inexpensive for the average Indian. In addition, sandalwood (dust or, if the people can afford it, real sandalwood) is added to the to make certain there is no smell. (I didn’t smell anything other than wood burning even though about twenty bodies were burning in separate fires the night I was there!) The male family member with his long wooden stick must first circle the body 5 times for the 5 elements: wind, earth, air, fire and ether. Then, the fire is lit from a coal of a religious Hindu fire that has been burning continuously for over 3000 years. The body is removed from a gold foil and it is placed in the middle of the pile of wood as it is built. After 3 hours into the fire, all is considered done. So the male family member cracks the skull to release the spirit and then finally disposes the remains (chest for men; pelvis for women) in the holy River Gages. Finally, he takes an urn of water from the Gages and throws it over his shoulder signing the completion of the burning. I was fortunate to see all the various parts of this amazing ceremony from my vantage point.

After the ceremony of the dead, I saw the evening ceremony of the living. This is performed every evening and the tourists really like it since they are allowed to take pictures - unlike the burning ceremonies!

Yesterday, Tuesday, November 22thy, I took the sunrise tour of the Gages River that my hotel offers. It was somewhat interesting as I saw all the pilgrims do their morning bathing in the religious Gages. But the tour guide’s English was terrible so I didn’t learn much from him. Later on I went to see the Golden Temple (The original Visvanath Temple). Unfortunately, this temple is not only closed to non-Hindus but due to a recent bomb experience, it is almost impossible to see at all. I did well to manage a glance but, of course, no photos were allowed. There were many many military men there guarding this temple!

Today, Wednesday the 23rd, I haven’t done much except check out of the hotel and made my way to the train station. All in all, it was a nice stay here in Varanasi. Now, I got an evening train to Patna. Patna is supposed to be one of the poorest cities in India! I can but wonder how much worst is possible...

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