Saying goodbye, again!
Trip Start
Nov 21, 2007
1
9
18
Trip End
Dec 30, 2007
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Varanasi,
India
Monday, December 3, 2007
I am about to jump a plane to Amritsar, but until then...
Yesterday Marcela and I hit the market, and I bought some stuff, which means that I'll be forced to go to the post again.. If I can, i will leave my purchasese with Kinar (sorry about the typos here folks, this keyboard is a little... Not working.) and then go up and back from the wedding in amritsar and send them from Delhi with his help. I' m very lucky and excited- I am staying in a spare room at Ameena's aunt's house, and will be picked up at the airport and taken there when i get in... which is at 7... I'll have tiem to shower - told there is hot water... oo!- and then the wedding ceremony pretty much starts at 10. I'm excited for the home stay and to see the wedding. I've missed some pre-ceremony activity but wouldn't have missed Varanasi for the world. Anyway.. yes back to Varanasi...
So shopping... Exhausting.. checked email afterwareds and then ran to the hotel and rested for a coupe of minutes... My last night and I still had not seen night time (sunset) puja down on the river.. so i made myself get up and go, and so happy I did! it was beautiful. Drumming, bells ringing, singing, all that I've heard every night that i've been here but was always doing something else so... anyway, went down.
Ahoy, Matey!
Really neat ceremony with I think seven men swinging beautiful lit lanterns- like huge candelabras- and making offerings to the river, and then the four directions, I noticed. Fantastic. oh yes- yesterday morning, after a pretty emotional night (just all good- I think I finally "got" here, to India, Varanasi..) I was sitting having tea and this swami came over and said a prayer and put tikka powder on me... I felt pretty special. I figure, I've been cleansed by a swami on the side of the Ganges. i have one base totally covered.. Anyway, before I ran down that night to the puja ceremony, the same swami was walking up the riverside and stopped me and again put tikka powder on me and gave me an offering (someone else had given to me a couple days ago- not sure what they are in Hindi, or whatever, but I was told "holy oats", so I knew to touch my forehead with them and then eat them.) i sprinted down towards puja after that.I am telling this story backwards! i'll have to come back from another computer and redo this. i only have five minutes until my driver supposedly arrives (we'll see0 and also this kepyboard is a little difficult, interrupting the flow, and all.
Sooo.. Puja beautiful.. came back from there after talking to this little girl who got me to buy some bindis (which i will wear every day at home with my new saris) and a postcard; she was a real business woman, this one... And had dinner with marcela, and some really great laughs. I will miss her, but we'll keep in touch! I was more than ready for bed...
Hanuman temple offerings
Long day.. And I had to get up at 5:15 today to get my boat for morning puja on the ganges!So that was today- up early, Marcela had set up a boatman for me (oarsman, excuse me, eth) and so i went for two hours up and down the river. I saw everyone riverside making (? is that the right word?) puja, people doing laundry (beating fabric against boards set at an angle with stones) etc etc, and also saw a body being brought down and put on the fire, saw people rowing out to the middle of the river and yelling "OH!" loud and long and then the seagulls actually come to that call- they know the sound!- and then they are fed, and then my oarsman took me out and I got some food for them and I got to yell "OH!" and a swarm of gulls is everywhere, I threw out the food, I was giggling, the oarsman was laughing too, it was really fun. Beautiful ghats and puja up and down the ganges... I lit candles for Grandma, Grandpa, Luke, and my live family too- we're all covered- once in the dark before sunrise and then once on the way back in the light. It was great. I don't know what else to say. i love this place.
We rowed up and marcela was on the balcony waving- she was waiting for me. We had breakfast together and then she needed to go make beauty (love the language barrier) for her mystery man who comes back to town today. I went and organized and packed and whatnot, then headed down here where i am to meet my driver to the airport- 5 minutes ago now- and i also had finally some good food in Varanasi, of course right before I left. The bakery had fantastic gorgonzola pizza, but this was my first good INdian food since Ive been here. Hotel was awesome; food there sucked. That's ok, the view was worth a million microboilogical poisons... Ha. So was the company.
Oh yeah, also ran in to Peter again (from Agra)- he was dining on the terrace at the hotel, he had met a guy on the train who got a room there. I sat with him for a few and then- ok, maybe I"ll run in to you again! I'm going south and he's been, so probably not- but you never know... He's going to Kolkata, and I don't think I have any reason to want to go there.. If I was to go somewhere else, I'd come back here. I love this city.
Ok, where is that driver...??? i do have to get on a plane for delhi here... planes and trains don't nod their heads and say, "no problem."
Ok then.. Probably write again after the wedding. i plan on hanging out with Kinar tonight and I have to be on a plane at 5am.. which means i have to be up at.. Not going to think about that right now.
Later everyone! 'bye, Varanasi! I will miss you most of all....
