Varanasi
India
Arriving in Varanasi was an assault on the senses. Here I was expecting a peaceful town by the Ganges, but instead the roads were congested with every sort of vehicle imaginable, the horns were as deafening as Delhi and it was almost impossible to walk anywhere without being mowed down by a motorbike or tuk-tuk. Not the tranquil setting I was expecting.
However, walking on the paths along the Ganges was fascinating. A mishmash of dilapidated, pastel-coloured buildings were crammed on top of each other in an assortment of architectural styles, creating a labyrinth of streets and laneways with no apparent sense of order and little room to manoeuvre about. The narrow roads intensified the blast of the horns, which I'm certain reduced my hearing range considerably. While I was mostly left alone in Delhi, here it was never more than a minute or two before I was offered transport, tours, blessings, souvenirs, even an ear cleaning. The relentless, in-your-face nature of it all was exhausting.
Varanasi is considered to be a spiritual city where many cultural rituals are performed in public. Our first experience of this was the sunrise Ganga Aarti (Ganges ritual) at Assi Ghat. Along with several hundred people, we crammed around a ceremonial platform with the hope of gaining the best vantage point possible. Little did we know that the spot we chose would have us watching the performance from behind, but it didn't matter too much (they faced everyone at some stage). For the next 45 minutes we witnessed young priests offer prayers to the Ganges, which involved chanting, smoke, bells, fire, flowers and conch shells. It was captivating, even though we had no idea what was going on. At the end a small plate of flowers with a candle in the centre was thrust into our hands, with the instruction to light the candle and place the dish in the river for good luck. It was definitely an experience to remember.
Most of our day was taken up on the ghats. Ghats are stairways that lead down to the Ganges and are traditionally a place for prayer, rituals and daily activities, such as bathing and washing. It wasn't so much the stairs that attracted us as the experience of observing local life. We started at the north end of the city and slowly made our way south, sporadically meandering inland when the path ran out. Within 2 minutes of being on the river, Danny had been taken hostage by a tour guide who insisted he was 'free' but of course requested a 'donation' at the end. He gave us an overview of the burning/cremation ritual at Manikarnika Ghat, where the recently deceased were wrapped in sheets and blessed in the Ganges before being cremated on a pile of logs by the water's edge, in full view of the public. Here we observed one body being carried out of the river and placed on the pyre, ready for burning. Later on, at Harishchandra Ghat, we stared in awe as a family covered their loved one with logs, various powders and incendiary materials, then lit the pile from underneath. It's not everyday you watch an actual human body go up in flames in front of you.
Thankfully, the weather was slightly warmer here than in Delhi but the haze was just as thick, casting a blurry, limited view over the whole scene. The other side of the river was barely visible, while the views along the bank on our side petered out into nothingness. It didn't compare to the photos that were hanging up inside cafes and shops of clear, sunlit days.
We had planned to visit Kashi Vishwanath Temple, one of holiest temples in India dedicated to Shiva, but the line was so long we couldn't actually find the end of it. Instead, we climbed up and down hundreds of stairs while ambling along the water, admiring the crumbling buildings that resembled former mansions or castles and watching how the locals were going about their day. We witnessed people bathing in the water, large sheets and towels being washed and spread out to dry, families sharing a meal and men playing cricket. It was tiring trying to avoid the never-ending offers for boat rides, but we were very much enjoying the horn-free environment. In general, it was extremely busy and there was a lot to digest - we did our best to absorb it all.
Behind the ghats were narrow alleyways, some barely wide enough for 2 people to walk side by side, but somehow motorbikes managed to come speeding through. A few alleys were painted with murals, many were lined with tiny stores selling local handicrafts, while others contained hole-in-the-wall temples. If you found a laneway without a throng of tourists or scooters whizzing by, it was possible to actually relax and enjoy it. Although it was a complete maze at times and we often had no idea where we were going, it was an interesting section of the city to explore.
In the afternoon I did a brief temple hop around Varanasi. Sri Bankhandi Mahadeva Temple looked like a black bullet, although apparently it was meant to depict a Shivling - a symbolic representation of Shiva. It was tiny and didn't have much inside its one circular room. Durga Temple was bright red and quite ornate but didn't allow cameras inside. Tulsi Manas Temple could have been mistaken for a mansion; its shiny, off-white marble surfaces and black polka-dot floor didn't scream 'holy building' to me.
In the evening we witnessed the most popular Ganga Aarti in Varanasi at Dashashwamedh Ghat. Even though it didn't start till 6 p.m., most of the seats on the ghat had been taken by 4.30 p.m. This time we opted for a view from a boat in the water, which commenced with a trip up and down the river to show us the numerous ghats from a different perspective. The boat driver used his horn just as often as the land vehicles, which wasn't exactly serene. Given it was almost sunset and the haze hadn't improved, the diminished light in the sky didn't do the scenery any favours.
Back at Dashashwamedh Ghat, our boat had a perfect front-on view of the ceremony, although we were much further away than our position at Assi Ghat. There was more chanting, smoke, bells, fire, flowers and conch shells, but this time the stage was surrounded by over 1,000 people. The performance was almost identical to what we witnessed this morning, but we appreciated our vantage point and the increased level of crowd participation. It felt somewhat special to join in this spiritual ritual, despite not understanding its significance. At the end, even though there was a mad rush to exit the site, both of us managed to have our foreheads stamped in ash as a blessing. Let's hope that the blessing related to good fortune on overseas trips.
Ramnagar Fort was located on the other side of the Ganges, which required a tense walk down a typically loud, congested main road before crossing over the longest bridge in existence. Okay, it wasn’t that long, but it felt like it when there was 2-way traffic with no lane markings and no footpath - it was every pedestrian and vehicle for itself. I had taken to wearing ear plugs in India, which was possibly the best item I had brought with me from home. They were never going to drown out the horns, but at least I didn’t feel as though my ear drums were about to burst.
Entering the fort felt like stepping back in time. Pale yellow buildings with green doors and white trim lined a small courtyard, with a couple of cannons sitting off to the side. Most of the structures were in disrepair and clearly hadn't been renovated in decades. To see any more of the fort I needed to buy a museum ticket, which didn’t interest me. Instead, I exited the fort and walked down a dirt road along the outside of the premises, which led me to the Ganges. From here, I followed the sloping, sandy bank along the fort’s tall walls until I stumbled upon a large, ornate door with steps down to the river. This clearly wasn't on the tourist trail with the amount of rubbish and faeces around, but it really should have been. It was stunning, offering a completely different but fantastic view of the fort.
Back over the Ganges (via the longest bridge ever, where no less than 3 motorcyclists stopped to offer me a lift), I made my way through a quiet neighbourhood to Banaras Hindu University. The wide, leafy roads made it feel more like a rural village than an educational institute, although the old, grand buildings sporadically poking through the trees didn't fit the countryside vibe. The main attraction here was Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, another one dedicated to Shiva but much more modern than Kashi Vishwanath Temple (the one we didn't visit due to the thousands of people lining up to enter) and thankfully less popular.
When I arrived the temple was closed for lunch. I waited around for 15 minutes before joining a queue of 100 or so people to walk through the gate towards the fairytale-like building. With a baby pink and white exterior, it could have come directly out of a Disney movie. Inside, a plain marble hallway led to several shrines dedicated to one god or another. I didn't enter the main shrine due to an inordinate number of people standing in line, who were chanting prayers while they waited. It wasn't the most impressive temple I had visited, but maybe it would have meant more if I had some idea about its significance to Hinduism.
Outside the temple were a series of street food carts that apparently sold just one food: samosa chaat. Freshly cooked samosa, coarsely smashed and covered in chana masala (chickpea curry) and chilli sauce. Total price: about A$0.80. It was incredibly tasty and very filling. I wish Australia had street food like this.
The afternoon and evening were spent back on the waterfront, exploring new ghats and revisiting old ones. The whole area exuded a seaside holiday vibe, although the constant stream of boats zipping up and down the coast detracted from the tranquility. We spent time checking out the food carts, perusing the souvenirs laid out on the steps, and observing various rituals being performed. Once the sun had set, we watched a female dancer giving a dramatic performance, a solo priest performing the Ganga Aarti with only a handful of onlookers, and many locals bathing in the sacred waters. The fires were burning bright at Harishchandra Ghat, with a skull and feet clearly visible in one of the cremations. The crowds for the Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat were just as immense as last night, but tonight we could only glimpse the spectacle far away from the top of the steps. Overall, Varanasi had been an eye-opening and illuminating experience that I'm sure would never compare to anything else we would see again.
