Varanassi

September 27-28,2009. The moment I stepped of the train in Varanassi a guy was on me. “Hello, you need rickshaw?”. The touts and hassles come so much in India that I quickly adjusted to automatically saying no. This guy was hard to shake and said he was with the prepaid rickshaw stand and that he wasn't trying to cheat me etc. I still wasn’t buying it. I proceeded out the station and sure enough there was a prepaid stand. I found the man in charge of the stand and was convinced that he was the man in charge. The fee to get to where I wanted to go was 75 rupees which was very fair. The guy who met me at the train was still on me and I slowly began to think he might be telling me the truth when I realized there were a line of drivers waiting for work. By nabbing me in the station he was able to cut to the front of the line. I paid my prepay fee and remarkably he took me straight to where I wanted to go with no hassles or unecessary stops. At times it can be hard to tell when someone is telling you the truth or not in India.

Varanassi is one of India’s oldest cities whose history dates back to 1400 B.C.,. It’s most known for a series of bathing ghats that go on for several kilomters where the city meets the Ghanges River. People come to Varanasi to live, pray, and die.
I arrived at my hotel at 7:30 am and was able to check in right away which was nice. I dumped my pack and went striaght down to Assi Ghat where boats lined the Ganges and people happily bathed in the muddy holy water. It was there that I met a man with a snake. There were three clay pots before him and and I said, “Cobra?”. He enthusiastically said yes and took out two Cobras. He began playing with them and even the local people were scared. I took photos and several locals told me not to get too close. I don’t know if the Cobrs’s were defanged or not but it was pretty cool. Cobra’s are extremely poisnous. If you get bit you don’t have much of a chance surviving. After the Snake show I gave the man a few rupees.

My day in Varanassi proved to be very full. I wandered the streets and back alley ways and visited several Ghats. Around noon I met a couple from Sweden and a woman from England at the main Ghat. I suggested visiting the nearby village of Sarnath to see the remains of an old Buddist monestary and the actual place where Buddha gave his first sermon. We hired a Rickshaw and spent about two hours there before returning to Varanassi. Upon returning to Varanassi we headed into the old area and got lost on the narrow alley ways in search of a guest house with a rooftop restaurant that serves beer.

Varanassi appears to have a large Muslim population and I guess that’s why beer isn’t openly sold here. It’s all sold under the cuff and is sometimes referred to as happy Pepsi. We eventually found the guest house and climbed the steep stairs to a wonderful rooftop view of the Ghanges and ordered beer and food. Having been a bit off of the traveler/backpacker track it was nice to have the company of fellow westerners for the day.

After beer and food I wanted to check out the burning Ghat. It was not far below the restaurant. Many people come to the Holy City of Varanassi to die and the burning ghat is where they are cremated. It’s located not far below building that serves as a hospice. Bodies are carried down wrapped in ornate cloth. First the body is dipped into the Ghanges then the ornate cloth is taken off to reveal a plain white cloth. The body in it’s plain white cloth is then sat upon neatly stacked wood. More wood is stacked on top. Before the wood is lit, Ghee (clarified butter) and incense are dumped on top of the wood. Once the fire takes hold it takes about 3 hours for the body to burn. I witnessed all of this as a friendly man who works at the ghat explained what was happening. The final ashes are given to the Ghanges. About 100-150bodies a day are cremated at the burning ghat that I visited. It was one of the most interesting things I’ve witnessed in India. Although it was intense to view for the first time it didn't seem weird or strange to me. It actually seemed quite natural and although the process quite primitive it appeared to work quite well.

Varanassi is the first stop on a whirlwind segment for me. This evening I'll take a 3hour bus to Allahabad where I’ll catch a night train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. After a night in Agra I’ll catch another night train to Udaipur where I plan to spend a few days.