Day Four in India - Varanasi Temple Tour and Kutumbh Slum

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Day Four - Varanasi



09/01/12



I was woken throughout the night by monkeys jumping on the roof, crying puppies and people vomiting violently somewhere in the hostel.



Had a very hot shower and tried really hard to convince myself that the water came from somewhere other than the septic Ganges. Mayur confirmed that the local water does come from the septic Ganges but reassured me that it goes through a purification plant first. Not much reassurance at all really when you see what they put in the Ganges and knowing how famous the Indians aren't for having clean water??



So Mayur was on time at 9am and we set out for the brown bread bakery to get a take away breakfast of banana and honey cake which was pretty good. We jumped in the auto rickshaw and headed to the Dhurga Temple. A female goddess that rides on the back of a lion and who's temple is painted blood red all over.



Next stop was one of the oldest temples, the Manas Temple. And finally to the newest temple. I can't actually remember all the names at the moment but I will look it up...



Around 11.30 we arrived at Kutumbh. Mayur hadn't mentioned that it was in a slum so I had no time to mentally prepare myself. As soon as I got out of the autorickshaw three very small children greeted me with smiles and English 'hello madam, how are you?' I responded with 'namaste! Tum kaise ho?'. They laughed and ran away. We went right to the top of a building clad in marble and quite richly decorated in comparison to the shanty buildings outside. A door opened up onto a huge rooftop from where you could see the entire slum. It was exactly as you would imagine. It made my heart feel heavy but then I met the children of the orphanage who did nothing but smile, laugh, play and love to learn. I met the staff helping out here; Maneka, Jess, Nicole, Pam, Jane, two Michelles, Linley and Sandra from the night before. I spent the day with the staff and kids who made me realize that these children don't need nor do they want pity. They are happy with what they have and anything else is a bonus. That's not to say that they should be forgotten. They still need help to ensure that they can get the education and assistance they need to become the people they truly wish to become. Ten year old Mancy hopes to become a doctor. When I get back to the UK I intend to do as much as I can for this organization.



I stuck with Jess and Nicole who came with me and Mayur to the Puja Ceremony which takes place every day at 6pm on the ghats at the waters edge. Hundreds of people come to see the ceremony which is a beautiful display of dance, music, fire and incense. We watched most of it before heading down to the burning ghats where the human cremations take place. My guide, Mayur, decided against it as he felt that he and us would be suffer more hassle from touts than if he were not with us and so we continued alone. We were hassled by just one guy who tried to tell us about the burnings. We asked him not to as we had been warned that these men ften demand money for their services afterwards but he became really quite angry at the supposition that all Indians were just out to get your money. We had said nothing of the sort and I refused to be bullied. He backed down eventually but it was a little uncomfortable for a while.



We ate tonight at the Lotus on the water front which was great and I can recommend it strongly as a safe place to eat with good food and a great view over the Ganges. We made our way back through the streets of old town Varanasi in the dark which made it more difficult to to avoid the piss streams and piles of shit. We wandered passed tiny kiosks selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things but I am trying hard to resist the urge to buy anything until the last leg of my journey. Though I did treat myself to some fruity shower gel which I put into use immediately when I got back to the hostel.

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