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Published: April 7th 2011
Before heading to the chaos of Varanasi I stopped off in Allahabad for a couple of nights. I'm not sure if this was a wise decision or not. The main problems were all to do with the hotel. Dusty, bed bugs, dusty, no shower and did I mention dusty?! Furthermore, the hotel had a 24 hour checkout policy. Since I arrived at 6.30 AM, I had to checkout at this time too. On a more positive note, the city was not at all touristy. Does not sound like an advantage initially but it meant I was free from any harassment most of the time.
The selling point of Allahabad was Sangam. This is the meeting point of the two largest rivers in India: Yamuna and Ganges. This is a pilgrimage site for millions of Hindus. A few years back it held the largest human gathering ever of 70 million people. Thankfully only a few hundred were there when I arrived at dawn. A fantastic sight as these Hindus were rowed out to the rivers' meeting point. The pilgrims cleansed themselves and gave gifts to their gods. The morning haze, upon the rivers, made this look almost dreamlike because as they
drifted further away, the more they disappeared into the shallow sun.
A note must be taken of the obsession with cricket, once again. Just before I arrived at Sangam, at dawn, I stumbled across hundreds of children playing several cricket matches on a dusty patch of land. The was first thing in the morning! These guys are committed to say the least.
A shortish train ride dropped me in the deep-end. Varanasi is well known for not being understated. To prepare myself, I bought another full body massage. This time it was different: I had to take off my boxer shorts! Completely naked without anything left to the imagination. Apart from the initial shock, best massage I'd ever had.
Now feeling extra clean and relaxed I ventured to the famous ghats, one of the holiest places in India. This is where people come to wash away their sins and cremate loved ones in the "Ganga". As well as religious goings on, locals wash clothes, do yoga, perform massage, play cricket, wash their buffaloes and pester tourists. It is an unbelievable place to people watch. One man even asked me: "You want to get high? It is good
for you!"
During my wander I ventured to the infamous Manikarnika Ghat. This is the largest "burning ghat" along the Ganges and the the most auspicious place for a Hindu to be cremated. Hindus are said to reach Nirvana here. An apparently informative and kind worker at the ghats showed me around. I couldn't help feel intrusive and uncomfortable. Families were cremating their loved ones in public, for all to see. I also discovered the "kind" man's hidden agenda. He was trying to get me to give to the ghat as charity. The amount he said was normal approached 50 pounds. When I advised I was only an onlooker and did not want to become involved, he became furious and escorted me away from the area, dragging myself by the arm. He wasn't in it for the families, he was in it for the money. I was pleased with my decision when another man on the ghat explained much of the money does not even go to the families, but to the workers' pocket. A once in a lifetime experience, enforced by myself, since the visit was eye-opening yet too intense.
At sunset, an "aarti" ceremony and "puja"
was performed. These are the lighting of floating candles plus the fire and dance performance respectively. I did not expect as many people to turn up to this. There has to be a couple of thousand, at least, with a pleasant mix of tourists and locals. The people were situated on both the ghat steps and boats. The aarti was beautiful. The river slowly carrying the small glimmering points of light down the Ganga. The puja topped this. It was a hypnotic show by six or seven men performing the fire, smoke and dance ceremony on platforms. The show accelerated as it reached its climax, where the audience began to join in clapping and chanting. I couldn't help but get in involved.
Unfortunately, the following day, due to cheeky boatmen and the seering heat, a boat ride down the Ganga was not possible. I sat at the ghats watching the day go by instead. When the children got back from school, they couldn't help but try on my sunglasses and take photos of each other on my camera. Every time they saw each other on the screen they giggled and ran off. As well as this, I watched a
seemingly intense game of riverside cricket. If the ball was hit straight in the water, which was often they were out. Strange rule since one whole side of the pitch was water. One chap even took a diving catch off the ghat into the Ganges.
I also took a walk through the old city bazaars and streets, during the late afternoon. You wouldn't believe how tight the walkways were. Water buffaloes casually strolling down them, raw sewage, beggers sleeping in them and more. One thing I did notice was the amount of hippies. To me, it just seemed far too try-hard. Their clothes were not washed, huge amounts of body piercings, dreadlocked hair and some didn't even wear shoes. Even the beggars had shoes! My problem was is that they wined and dined in decent restaurants eating burgers and chips. Not much of a hippy then are we?!
To get back to Delhi, a 12 hour train awaited, which was notorious for being late. FUN!
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Auntie Gems
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And up one pops!
Just re-read my message of yesterday. It was a bit stern at the end - oops. But it worked cos here's an update. Glad all is going well and I'm liking the photos. Am surprised no-one has posted the result from Sunday's Wembley Final though. Close but no cigar for the Bees. Oh well - always next year. Again ;-)