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Published: October 31st 2010
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Having caught the train from NJP with Marc at 11pm, we arrived at Mughal Sarai the following afternoon on the Brahmputra Mail Train. I really enjoy sleeping on Indian trains, it's a completely different experience from anything you would experience in the UK, though as the night turned into day it got a little boring waiting for the remaining nine hours to pass. I took a few minutes in the middle of the day to stand at an open door and watch the train pass at speed through the sunny Indian plains which felt amazing. Great North Eastern Railways won't let you do that on the way from London to Darlington you see.
At the station we were met by a barrage of auto-rickshaw drivers the minute we stepped off the train. Eventually we managed to find one for 20Rs and were packed in tight like a tin of sardines with about eight other passengers. We set off for Varanasi through the dark roads where the outlines of cars, suicidal cyclists, and even camels silhouetted in the night.
Varanasi, on the banks of the sacred River Ganges, is said to have been founded by the Hindu deity Lord Shiva
5000 years ago, and is one of the Hindus seven sacred cities. To die and be cremated there means that one is released instantly from the cycle of rebirth. Certain people such as pregnant women and children are exempt from cremation, and are instead wrapped up and put in the river weighed down with stones.
We were dropped off at Varanasi Station and attempted to walk to the Ghats, but the distance was too far so having spent the last forty five minutes dodging the rickshaw drivers, who approach you if you let your guard down for five seconds, we hailed a rickshaw and asked to be taken to the Godaulia where the traveler hotels are. Unfortunately our driver, not being able to speak a word of English and having seen our bags and backpacks took a wild guess as to our destination, and took us back to Varanasi Railway Station. Here, he sat looking in the car park looking very confused as we tried to tell him he'd taken us to the wrong place. Some local children tried to assist us:
Me and Marc: Do you speak English?
Boy: Yes
Us: Can you tell the driver we
Sunrise on the Ganges
From the morning boat trip need to go to Godaulia?
Boy (to us): This is not Godaulia
Us: We know, but can you tell the driver we need to go there?
Boy (to us): This is not Godaulia
Cue further awkward silence.....
Eventually we had the idea of phoning a hotel and getting them to give the driver instructions in Hindi, and we were eventually deposited outside the correct place. We checked into the hotel and headed for the nearest ghat. The ghats all have different purposes, some more important than others. Most seem to be bathing ghats where people wash themselves every morning in the river.
Varanasi is an amazing place to be. It's narrow maze-like alleyways filled with people, dogs, monkeys, goats, and cows - all casually meandering about, make it the closest to living in Medieval times most people will ever get. The labyrinths are packed with clothes shops, small guesthouses, internet cafes, cafes, sweet sellers, and musical instrument shops amongst much else. We reached Dasaswamedh Ghat and looked over what seemed like the never ending Ganges stretching out into the night. The experience really was something else, such an ethereal moment.
This morning we got up at
four thirty and took a boat ride out onto the Ganges for an hour to watch the sun rise. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Exploring the ghats and the surrounding area was very interesting, even if it meant dodging the local touts offering boat rides, visits to silk factories, tours of the burning ghats, and in one case the man who worked for the Government LSD shop where you could buy cannabis, LSD, cocaine, or opium nice and legally!. Yeah right, the police take a dim view of alcohol and Bhang Lassis, let alone anything else. So we gave the Government LSD shop a miss.
Due to it's holy history and legend, death is everywhere in Varanasi, some of it, such as taking the boat past the Manikarnika Ghat (the "Burning Ghat"), or when a funeral procession suddenly emerges, with the elaborately decorated shroud wrapped body being carried through the streets to the Ganges, is almost spiritual. Less spiritual, is having to walk through the burning ghat, which is both gross, and lined with touts who try to fleece tourists by taking them to a deserted building for a "better view" before demanding an obscene amount of money
in the form of a "donation". Luckily Ed and Charlotte had tipped us off about this in advance. I could have also done without seeing the dead body of a child floating past our boat on the morning trip. Thanks boatman, for casually pointing that one out.
At 6:30pm, there is a Brahmin ceremony some of the other ghats, which is a half hour act of song, imagery, and fire. Many people pay for a boat out on to the Ganges and watch the show from about ten metres out onto the river. I took the time to buy a burning candle in a floating paper cup, and send it out over the Ganges with the wish of health and happiness for family and friends. So don't say I never do anything for you!
Yesterday we explored all the ghats from South to North, once we'd reached the final ghat we came across a shanty town by the Ganges. The local kids came out to talk and wanted their photos taken. One of them let me have a go at flying his kite, which was on just about the longest piece of string I've ever seen. I flew
it for about a minute and then gave it back before I sent it heading head first towards the ground. I was impressed with how open Marc was towards the kids in Varanasi, both at the shanty town and earlier when he let some teenage hawkers hold his thousand pound camera. In London, and no doubt Melbourne that would have been gone within minutes.
I've almost seen Varanasi now, I've even played a sitar in a music shop. It's quite a lot different to playing a guitar. I've always wanted one and I can buy one for 6000 Rs (about 90 pounds and get it sent back to London for another 40) but I don't know where I'd put it or how often I'd play it.
I was going to stay until the 6th November, as I wanted to be there for Diwali, but I've seen most of the city now so I'll head to Lucknow tomorrow and be back in Varanasi in time for the 5th.
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Marta
non-member comment
it should be your profile pic on facebook!