The Ghats of Varanasi

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The second week of my time in India I decided to go with Emily, the Seattle girl I had met on my first day in Bombay, on a little vacation. She seemed very comfortable in India after spending six weeks there so I thought her positive and acclimated attitude might rub off on my surly mood. The trip was very…loosely planned. We decided to go to Uttar Pradesh a region up north where Varanasi and Agra are. It was a very short trip, 4 days and three cities, Varanasi, Agra and Delhi.

Varanasi is India’s holy city. If you die there you go straight to heaven and are not reincarnated. If you wash in the Ganges, you are purified from being unclean or polluted. Thus, large Ghats or stairways, were built leading to the water. Each ghat has a different purpose, was built at a different time and has its own history. Irony is the Ganges is fillllllllthy. People excrete in it to be purified, the metallic levels alone should make your skin scream plus many other gross factors. It is also known for its little streets which resemble alleyways more than anything.

We left Mumbai Thursday morning for Varanasi and had a layover in Delhi where we called the Yogi Lodge, a guesthouse from our travel guide. We asked if there was any room and if they’d pick us up at the airport. Apparently Vishnu, the man showing us around, had left right after our phone call to make it in time to pick us up at the airport. Trying to find the Yogi Lodge without his navigation skills would’ve been impossible. The “streets” within the city are the size of a large alley and wind and turn so much you lose your sense of direction. He guided us to the guesthouse which was really nice considering our lodging cost Rs. 250 ($5 US).

Vishnu offered to take us on little tours around Varanasi (for a small fee of course) so our first night we went to a ceremony on the Ganges. It’s an hour long ritual done at different Ghats for different gods. 8 men stand in a row and perform the rituals with different items over and over again. They used bells and water and fire and flower petals. One man’s motions were so powerful, making the whole ritual into a dance. People also sent out prayer candles to the sea so there were little votives of light dotting the Ganges.

We woke up at 4:45 am for an early morning ride on the Ghats. The sunrise on the Ganges is supposed to be spectacular; however I can’t attest because it was a really cloudy morning. We were taken to the river by a man who I thought would be our captain. He led us through the alleyways to a small boat where a young boy sat. A few days after the experience I wrote this in response to employing the boy as our boat driver:

9/11
“Today I knowingly employed child labor. As previously arranged we were to go to the Ghats and watch the early morning devotees purify their bodies for the days ahead. We follow our guide as he plays Indian music from an FM transmitter on his phone and sings along to the tune, creating the only sound in the early morning stillness. The boat awaiting us has a boy of about 13 years sitting at the oars. I thought he was just “bringing the car around” as we say but our guide turned to us, asked if we were ok and then disappeared. Unsure of what to do I quickly weighed the options tumbling in my head. I could refuse to take this boat and thus uphold child labor laws, which would leave him still looking for work and without the pay he was promised. Or take the boat ride and give him the money, employing child labor. I know stores in the US employ child labor and I often times push that out of my mind when I see a really cute sweater at Old Navy for 12.99, but I was forced to face the situation.

My justification might seem wrong to some but I decided to take the boat ride. I knew he would spend the morning looking for work and if didn’t find any, could be beaten upon arriving home empty handed. I decided if I had no other option to provide this child, an education specifically or programs to help him change the position, that it might even be considered less humane to deprive him of the little money he was making. But the truth is I don’t know. Is it better to have a child working and making a little bit of money than starving? Or is it wrong to employ child labor no matter what? The fight of utilitarian and deontological moral principals….I should have asked the kid.”

The Ghats were interesting, mostly I couldn’t believe people would actually dunk themselves in that water. The burning Ghats were the most interesting. Being cremeated is the clean way to be disposed of in Hinduism and as many people go to Varanasi specifically to die, they have burning Ghats at the water’s edge with fires constantly burning the bodies of those who have moved on. Some people even ask to have their bodies transported to Varanasi because of its “holy properties” and the ghats. Small groups in mourning would accompany the body, although women aren’t allowed down near the Ghats. When I walked by the burning Ghats, the smell of burning wood was overwhelming and would clog my throat. I would also have ash raining down on my head and I couldn’t help but wonder if that ash was only produced by the wood. As told to me by Vishnu, there are five different types of people that cannot be cremated: Christian men, pregnant women, children, people who died by snake bites and one more I can’t remember. Those bodies are sunk in the bottom of the Ganges instead. Yes, people bathe in there.

Emily and I returned and went to three temples with Vishnu. All are devoted to different gods, no cameras are allowed and shoes can’t be worn inside. It was so interesting to be in such a historical place and see new religious practices. I learned a lot about the major gods too. We then went to a silk factory and watched the workers produce tapestries and bought overprices silk. This was our first experience to the “wine and dine” business approach wher eyou’re taken by your guide to have chai and sit in a cool room to peruse items for sale. The guide receives a commission for what you buy and we knew this but it was enjoyable an enjoyable experience.

We finished our time in Agra by going to a Kama Sutra temple, which had some interesting carvings and other smaller, unknown temples. It was a nice day, fully packed of activities and time to move onto Agra.

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