Varanassi

Narrow alleyway.

Looking down the Ghats.

  Impressions of Varanasi
     The guide book refers to this city as one of the holiest cities in India.  To the Hindus it is a city of pilgrimage for a variety of reasons. The Ganges River (or as it is called in India the Ganga) is the holy river.  People bath in it to wash away sins, make their offerings to and on it, and cremate their dead in special places on the shore. The western bank is lined for a couple of kilometers with a series of steps and walkways called ghats, shrines and temples. The oldest part of the city backs right up to these ghats.  We found ourselves a guest house with a terrace that overlooks the long sweep of the ghats, so we are right on the edge of everything. The staircse drops us right on one of the ghats and and from there it is 100 feet to the river itself.  It is the dry season so the river is low. In addition to the above mentioned activities life itself basically goes on there.  The bank is also lined with small and large rowboats (only a few are motorized) and dawn and dusk is a busy time for being out on the river for tourists; both Indian and foreigners (there are a lot of Japanese and Israeli tourists here as well).  I'm sure it's more of a novelty for us foreigners and more spiritual for the Hindus. There are water buffalos that wander up and down the shore, hordes of dogs on the steps, the laundry people with their flat wash stones beating the clothes, sheets, and towels right in the river.  Most are dried on the embankment but there are also clotheslines that are set up every morning and taken down every afternoon.  People come down and take their daily bath in the river.  Most wear at least something but for many of the men it isn’t much. The women are more modest and manage to bathe in their saris.  People brush their teeth with the river water and occasionally use it or the shore as a toilet. Add into that the wandering sadhus (men who have given up everything and just live with what they have on and a food bowl for meals) the beggars, the boatmen trying to rustle up business, kids flying kites, snack sales people, wandering souvenir sales people, and so on.  Yesterday afternoon alone as I watched from the terrace there was a pickup cricket game going on, right next to a badminton game, 2 gentlemen on the steps were engrossed in a chess game and kite flyers back and forth around the lot.  At times it feels overwhelming trying to take it all in.

Boats on the Ganges.

   That was what was out the front of the guest house.  The oldest part of the city is several blocks of alleys and pathways where no “street” names are posted. When we exit the guest house from the rear we can go in two directions via a maze of alleys.  Most of these are no wider than the hallways at the local high school in Guilford.  Yet on them you will find on a regular basis (in addition to the people) delivery people with loads on their bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles winding their way through, shop keepers calling out peddling their wares (especially to the tourists “Hello, miss just come look in my shop. I have beautiful shawls/saris/CD’s/or what-have-you!), dogs (some with piles of puppies), and wandering cows. You can imagine what is underfoot in these places. None of these main alleys is totally straight and there are narrower alleys that branch off of them; steps up into restaurants, guest houses shops or homes. It’s a town all compressed into a small area.  It’s really hard to explain in a way that will give you a true picture of how wildly different it is from what I’m used to. As with so much of India I just have to let go of my cultural baggage and let it be what it is. And let it be a learning, growing experience.   Happy New Year!
Martha.

Pilgrims.

December 28-the bus ride
Today we experienced 11 of the most grueling hours on a bus yet!  Arrive after dark in Varanasi with no rupees, an unable to find a taxi to take us to or rest house, (the Vishnu).  We ducked into a big, fancy hotel and they called one for us. After an hour of searching,  we learned that the rest house was right on the Ghats in the old section of the city, and the alleyways in that part of the city were too narrow for taxis and rickshaws.  Called the rest house and they sent someone out to lead us in.  The walk in was bazzarely memorable, like wandering the halls and passageways of a medieval castle inhabited by lots of cows and water buffalo-cow pattys EVERYWHERE!  Basic room, friendly, very laid back staff. Ate and crashed.

looking down the Ghats.. Again.

December 29
Awoke to the sound of something strange.Stepped out of the room and found myself lookinh out over the Ghats and across the Sacred Ganga River. A red ball sun was burning through the mist, small black wooden boatloadts of tourists were being rowed  up and down the river, and a line of men were standing on the edge  of the river doing the laundry by smacking it on boards in front of them (the noise that had been my morning alarm).
The Ganges river is at a level well below the last steps of the Ghats, and has been dropping more each year due to the receeding glaciers in the Himalayas.  I have seen a number of posters asking people to do things to slow global warming, like driving less and using energy efficient lightbulbs to save Mother Ganga.
Ben and I went for a walk this morning to find an ATM.  The tiny, narrow little alleyways that we are staying in are fantastically archaic, extremely filthy, and full of surprises every few  feet.  Motorycles still use them, sometimes getting up to 25 mph, so it is even more dangerous as walking along normal city streets. To quote Ben;  "It is like having 4 or 5 motorcycles speeding up and down the hallways at P.C.H.S. during class changes".
We passed through an open market selling fruits and vegetable and packed with sacred cows and monkeys trying to snatch stuff from the vendors.  Ww were gone for 5 hours, and in that time, we  found and used an ATM and got some tickets at the RR Station.  What a city!  Streets as crowded as a rush hour elevator!  To quote our guide book (Lonely Planet):  Varanasi, the Holy city.  "You are about to enter one of the most blindingly colorful, unrelentingly chaotic, and  unapologetically indescreet places on earth."  As soon as you leave the safety? of your hotel, you are constantly being bombarded with hawkers trying to sell, show, and even give you something, and most will stick with you like Gorilla Glue.At the same time you are  constantly dodging motorcycles, cow patties, rickshaws, cows and great hoards of people!  As you walk along, the smells change about every 3rd step-curry,sewer,flowers,fruit, incense,curry, on and on and on!  You have not really seen India until you visit Varanasi!!!  It is totally and radically 10 steps above AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
The sights are unreal.  I watched a motorcycle carrying three people attempt to pass a huge cow on a narrow section of one of the narrow streets((alleys) near our hotel.  He got WEDGED. the motorcycle's tire was spinning, and the cow was grunting. Neither cow nor motorcycle could move, till the cow gave a mighty heave, broke free and wandered on ahead with a rather disgusted look on her face.  Went to bed early to catch up on lost sleep on the bus.

"family time on the ghats."

School kids.

The craziness of the main street.

Puja ceremony on the ghats.

December 30
We went for a walk up the Ghats. I culd point the camera in any direction and get a  nice picture.  People come from all over India to die and be cremated here, and have their ashes spread in the Ganges.  The Indian people believe that the water in the river is pure, and can heal. The guide book recommends NOT to swim in it, let alone drink it!  The burning Ghats were mostt interesting (to observe-illegal to photograph).  Theremust have been 20 chord of logs stacked up on the banks.  Three people were being cremated  at the time.  Ben and I both agreed that it smelled like a 3-family barbecue where the families had gone off for a swim and had forgotten to return to tend the grille.
Seems like we spend an awful lot of time deciding what to order, ordering our meals, then waiting for it to come.  It does, however, give us a chance to discuss the day's events, philosophze and plan activities. Spent a lot of time wandering the alleyways and looking at all of the beautiful stuff for sale.  Went to a Puja ceremony during the evening.  People light candles placed in aluminum cups and surrounded by flowers and send them out on the river.  Very pretty at night.

December 31
Off to a little school for disadvantaged kids run and funded by the people who own the Brown Bread

Water Buffalo!!!!

Bakeries in the city.  Not many kids there as it is the cold season, and many parents keep their kids at home when days are cold.  We sat in on class and helped out with art?   I stayrd a couple hours longer, through lunch, recess and English class.  Recess was total chaos-soccer and tag played mainly on the table and desk tops, with the teacher ignoring the whole scene.  My kind of class!  After lunch the students took turns teaching English.
II went out for a classical Indian music concert after supper.  Sitar, tabla (Indian drums, and flute mostly, played in the first floor of an ancient building.  The floors were totally covered with mattresses, which were covered with white sheets.  Beautiful music.  The Sitar went on for 2-1/2 hours and consisted of just 2 songs!  It was very varied, very little repitition.  A fine supper was served at intermission.  The flute music was enchantingly deep, soft and magical.
Lots of explosions at midnight!