India (2): Varanasi

Varanasi: Dec. 30, 2008 - Jan. 3, 2009
I landed in Varanasi in the afternoon. Thankfully, the hotel pickup was waiting for me. There were many Indians waiting for family members with marigold flower necklaces. We rode through the countryside with much greenery, shacks, and people.

It was a drastic shift once we approached the city. It was crowded and noisy. There were people everywhere: bicycles, motorcycles, cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws (tuk-tuks), cars, trucks, people, cows. It seemed to be complete chaos, with constant honking, no lines, traffic lights, or stop signs, just go where and when there is a space. It was captivating and overwhelming.Hotel
We stopped and I was led down some very narrow twisty alleyways to the hotel. The alley streets were tight and about 4 stories high on both sides with shops, houses, temples, people, cows, and dogs. My backpack and I squeezed through them and finally reached the hotel. The hotel Alka is built right on the Ganges River and is a big U-shape with a large patio/restaurant in the middle. (It is the big white one). Click here to see a video of the view of the Ganges from my hotel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUoylH27Wv0My room had a view of the river out the front door and a small balcony over the alleyways out the back door. It was great and 500Rs/night ($10). The restaurant at the hotel was delicious and had American and Indian food (all vegetarian). Most of my meals with drinks averaged 100Rs ($2).

I had two thick, heavy blankets to keep me warm at night. All the beds and pillows in India are hard. I slept fine but could hear people chanting and singing, monkeys fighting, and bells ringing at random times through the night. There are no shower curtains in Indian hotels (at least none of mine) so the whole bathroom gets wet. They have water heaters that you need to turn on and wait about 15 minutes before you want to shower.

The Indian people use the typical squat style toilets. You put your feet on the foot rests on each side and squat down. They clean themselves with water and their left hand. The hotels rooms, many restaurants, and tourist places have typical American sit-down style toilets although you often need to carry your own toilet paper.

Ganges River
Varanasi is one of the holiest Hindu cities and the Ganges River, the Holy Mother, is the most sacred river. Hindus believe the water has healing powers, if you bathe in it you will be washed of all sins, and if your cremated ashes are thrown in it, your soul will be liberated. Tens of thousands of Indian people come down to the river every morning at 4 or 5:00am to bathe and perform puja (blessing).

Every night from 6:00-7:00pm they return again for big ceremonies along the river called ganga aarti. There are young men that perform a choreographed dance involving bowing, waving incense, moving around burning candelabras, bell ringing, and chanting while the audience buys paper bowls containing marigolds and lighted candles and place them into the river as thanks. The audience surrounds the ceremony on the steps and in boats. Click the link to see quick video of the ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXAE-M2H_MThe river is actually very polluted but the people here will not admit it. Every person I spoke to denied that is was dirty. According to my guidebook, 30 large sewers are directly emptied into the river, the water is septic and has tons of fecal matter, waterborne diseases are rampant. One day I watched a dead cow floating down the river. Numerous times a day, I passed men urinating along the walkway right next to the river. Cows defecate next to the river and dead bodies and ashes are thrown in the river.

Climbing down the steps to the Ganges River, there is a walkway following the river with steps on one side leading down into the river and steps on the other side leading up to hotels, old maharajahs (kings) houses, temples, and streets to the markets and alleys. With the overcast sky, the view was cut short but it was still lovely and peaceful.Within a few minutes, a young Indian man started up a dialogue with me and followed me down the river. This was a daily occurrence. Every time I left the hotel, within minutes, I had a young Indian male companion for the day. A few asked me at the end of the day to look at their silk shop but many just seemed to enjoy being a guide and would try to make appointments to meet with me the next day. One night, a young guy was trying to accompany me to the river ceremony and somehow I ended up in these dark alleys with no people around and the guy kept asking me if I had a boyfriend. I just kept quickly walking until I found a more crowded area and I ditched him.

The different sections of the walkways along the river are called ghats and each has its own name and story. One of the ghats had mats and wooden lounge chairs with umbrellas where you could talk to and be blessed by a Brahmin or holy man. There were many colorful shrines along the walk and colorful rowboats going by (I took an hour long rowboat ride by myself for 50Rs ($1)). Click the link to see a video from the rowboat ride: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwnsn_hYH8c There were people everywhere in colorful dress along with numerous cows, dogs, goats, and a few monkeys. Many of the goats had sweaters on the people had knitted for them during winter. There were quite a few men building large, wooden boats along the walkways.Along the walk down the river, there were many people bathing in the river (they keep themselves covered), doing laundry in the river and drying their laundry by either hanging it or lying it on the ground, many people just sitting or lounging around, some selling jewelry. There were numerous children walking around selling postcards, bindi dots, candles for the river, and jars of colorful powder with stamps. There were many religious men, Sadhus (religious men that gave up everything and are possession-less and considered dead, some are even naked and covered in ashes (aghori)) and Brahmins (like priests that will bless you and place a marigold necklace and talik (paint design) on your forehead, some dress in colorful costumes) and their followers are milling about. There were often homeless beggars sitting around. Kite flying was very popular with the kids. They were getting ready for a big kite competition in a few days.

Some Indian boys asked if they could take my picture. This, I would find out, is very common. Every city I was in, I was approached by Indians of all sexes and ages asking if they could take photos with me. I always consented.

The other side of the river has no buildings as this time of year it is exposed riverbed. During the monsoon season the river is higher but for now people were boating over to the dirt side and having picnics and flying kites and enjoying the open space they are deprived of.Cremation
I visited the Manikarnika Ghat, also know as the burning ghat. It is the most spiritual place for Hindus to be cremated. Upon approach, a guide immediately appeared to explain the ceremony to me. About 300 people a day are cremated here. There are two tall buildings behind the ghat which are sort of hospice houses; The elderly come there to die. Out of respect for the mourners, no photography is allowed in this area.

Once they die, the families get death certificates and cremation authorizations and then must buy the wood for the cremation. The wood is very expensive. They need like 200-300kg and each kg is 180Rs ($3.60). So the total price to cremate one person would be at least 36,000Rs ($720), which is the average yearly Indian income. (At the end of the "tour", the guide asked for donations that supposedly go to help families buy wood. I donated 100Rs ($2) and my guide, looking at me incredulously, said "this is the holiest, best, kind of karma you can buy. There is no way to buy better karma than this. The wood is very expensive." I gave him another 100Rs ($2) but refused more.)

The dead bodies are placed on platforms, decorated with gold foil paper and marigolds, and carried through the city. When they reach the Ganges River, they walk around the ghat 5 times with the body. It represents the 5 elements: water, air, earth, fire, and spirit. The body is then dipped in the Ganges before being placed on wood stacks for cremation. It takes about 2-3 hours for the body to burn. The ashes and any remaining bones are thrown in the Ganges River.

Women (of the mourning families) are not allowed to be present on the burning ghat as they begin crying and Hindus believe that creates a hold on the soul and it thus is not able to be liberated. The women have to stay back at the house.

There are 5 types of bodies that are not allowed to be cremated. The first 4 types of bodies are instead tied to a rock and thrown in the river. These are: women who died while pregnant (because they hold innocence in them), children (because they are innocent), victims of leprosy (because their skin is unclean), and Sadhus (these are religious holy men who have given up all their history and possessions and cannot be cremated). The last type of body that cannot be cremated are victims of cobra bites (because they contain poison). Their bodies are placed between banana leaves and floated down the river to the jungle where the residents pull the bodies out, remove the poison, and then tie a rock to the body and throw it in the river.

Monkeys
They were a few monkeys around. I often saw them climbing around the trees and the top of my hotel. They were usually fighting. One time there were monkeys climbing over the narrow alleyways and causing a disturbance. Another time, I tried to use the hotel's international phone to call Reina and it wasn't working.
"It's because of the monkeys," the man said.
"The monkeys?, Ha,ha," I replied but apparently he was serious.
"Yeah, they shake the wires at night," he explained. "They might be fixed tomorrow."
Click the link for some monkey fighting action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhbIaCJMI64The Alleyway System
On the back side of the hotel is the crazy maze of narrow alleys. It is really amazing and beautiful. Click the link to see some scenes of the alleys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwEjTeKOKZw Everywhere you look is color, paintings, temples and shrines (by the way, there are swastikas everywhere. It is a Hindu symbol for the sun and the universe. I was told that Hitler stole it because he wanted to be more powerful than the sun. They were even on many souvenir items... uh, yeah, I can't walk around with a swastika covered journal in the US.), food stalls (they often serve food on leaves so you can just drop it when finished), chai tea (often served in plastic cups and clay cups that are just thrown into the street), silk shops, t-shirts, bags, statues, souvenirs. The alleyways are to tight for vehicles but an occasional motorcycle or bicycle will try to squeeze by. It is packed with people and the random cow, dog, or goat. The majority of the women wore colorful saris or shalwar kameezes and the men mostly had cotton pants and sweaters and some wore robes. Almost all the men wore scarves. The younger men often wore tight on the butt and flared leg pants and had their hair glamorously combed and were very seventies in general. Most of the men and women work taliks or bindis on their forehead.Weather
It was a little overcast and foggy each morning. The mornings and evenings were chilly, maybe 50F and the daytime got warmer up to somteimes even 70F and sunny with blue skies.

Economy
Just for comparison, I asked one gentleman accompanying me how much the average teacher here makes. He said about 3,000Rs ($60) a month. I asked how much rent is and he said about 2,000Rs ($40) a month. According to my guide book, the average wage in 2006 was $59 a year. I asked him what was a good job where you could make a lot of money and he replied that the only jobs that pay a lot are ones where you are doing something illegal.

New Year's Eve
I was watching the nightly Ganges ceremony when I noticed a group of teenagers lighting candles and pasting them to the ground to spell out 2009. A group of newspaper reporters were there and begged me to join them in the photos. Afterward, a Brahmin chanted with me, blessed me, and placed a marigold necklace around me and a large orange and red talik on my forehead. Back at the hotel, they hosted a free party for all the guests. There were musicians playing drums and sitars (like a long skinny guitar with more strings) (click the link to hear a sample of the music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpbFwxMob1k ), a male and female dancer that did many dances (one of which was quite hilarious with high speed motions and some kind of funny chanting of "didja, didja, didja" that forced the audience to try to contain their laughter) (click the link to see a bit of the dancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2-v_DvOtw), and a flute band.

Afterward there was a huge buffet of delicious India food (all vegetarian of course, most Hindus are vegetarian and cows are sacred so you won't find beef in the entire country). They even gave us beer which is frowned upon by most Hindus. They had us hide it under the tables. I sat with a couple from Spain. Then they brought out a huge cake in the shape of 2009 and shot off a few fireworks.

Outer Varanasi Area
One day I walked outside the main ghats and alley streets and through the markets. Click the link to get a feel for the street chaos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLXM82e7-1E I walked down the larger main paved roads about 3 miles to a few different temples. At every temple it is required for you to remove your shoes before entering and no photography is allowed inside them. There is often a man to watch your shoes. They were all beautiful with many carvings and worshipers inside praying or being blessed or giving up offerings.Then I walked another 2 miles down to the Benares Hindu University. It covers a very large area and has many grassy parks and lots of space to breathe and escape the compacted city life. I went to a two story museum on the campus. Admission was 100Rs ($2) for foreigners (most places here have different prices for foreigners and Indians). There were many ancient statues, miniature paintings (the paintings are not actually minature but it refers to the amount of tiny details included in the painting), military equipment, letters from government officials, paintings on palm leaf strips, and some drawings and paintings from English artists that lived in India (as it was a British colony until 1947).

I had qualms about taking a cycle-rickshaw but then again, the peddlers are these old, scrawny men with no teeth and rags for clothes and all the Indians ride in them. It almost seemed like I was depriving the peddler of dinner by my choosing to walk so I finally caved in and took one from the University back to the river. Plus, it is better for the envirnment than the auto-rickshaws. For someone who looks like he is starving, they sure have a lot of strength and stamina.Getting Sick
According to my guide book, about 70% of the travelers to India get sick. It seemed accurate. In Delhi, I could hear the girl in the next room crying and puking. As I checked out of a hotel, a guy came down and asked to stay an extra day as his girlfriend couldn't leave the toilet. Every traveler I talked to had been sick, one girl even had to go to the hospital for dehydration.

Well, I was among them. My last night in Varanasi, my body woke me up and forced me into the restroom with nausea and more. I quickly took some medicine and tried to sleep. I had to get up again two more times but by morning I felt a little better. I decided to check out and take a cycle-rickshaw to the hospital pharmacy recommended in the guide book. The pharmacy gave me the medicine the guidebook recommended with no prescription but I was hoping to see a doctor to make sure that was the correct medicine. The place was confusing so I just paid for the medicine and left (The medicine was 86Rs ($1.70) and the cycle-rickshaw there and back was 150Rs ($3)).

Back at the hotel I looked the medicine up on the internet to make sure it was what I needed and to double check the instructions. I took one. I relaxed on the hotel baclony, enjoying the river, and praying I would be better as I only had about 3 hours before I needed to get on a 12 hour train ride. About 30 min. later, I had to puke. Unfortunately the restaurant restroom is the squat style toilet so I had to bend down really far and try to aim well. The entire pill came up with the few food I had left. Fortunately, it seemed to do the trick and I felt better.

Leaving: Train to Agra
The auto-rickshaw to the train station was 50Rs ($1). I had bought my train tickets in advance on the internet. It was very confusing at first but I found some helpful websites. The station was also confusing at first too. There are a few different platforms and you need to know which to be on (there are sometimes electronic billboards, announcements in Hindi and English, or a tourist office where they speak English). Once you find your platform, then you need to know which train arriving is yours. Once you identify that the train in front of you is the right one, then you need to find your train car and your seat.There are different classes of train cars you can buy tickets for. There are sleeper cars with beds in them and other cars with chairs. There are three different types of sleeper cars: AC2 is the best and most expensive. It has sealed windows and two beds per side that have enough room for you to sit up right and you get pillows, sheets, and blankets. The next class down in AC3. It is the same but has 3 beds per side (upper, middle, lower) and thus less room so you cannot sit upright without bumping you head. The final and cheapest sleeper class is SL. It also has 3 beds per side but the windows can open (which in winter means it is much colder) and you get no blankets.

I took one train in each sleeper class. The AC2 and AC3 had more people that were able to speak English. In the SL class I only found 1 person who could speak English. There are bathrooms (one squat and sit-down toilet) and a sink with a mirror between each car (the toilets just empty down onto the tracks below).Now you are on the train. How do you know when to get off? There are no announcements and most of the signs at the stops are in Hindi. Luckily I found other people to help me know when my stop had arrived. This meant my sleep was anxious and restless. You could sort of judge by how much time it was supposed to take but the trains were all running incredibly slow due to the fog. So my 12 hour night train to Agra was really 18 hours. That was fine with me as I just got to sleep more. Luckily my sickness had abated (I did throw up once on the train but overall felt fine).

Click on the link for the complete Varanasi photo album: Varanasi Photos

Stay tuned for Agra...