10.05: INDIA: Varanasi (day 2:Humorous Underbelly)
Trip Start
Oct 04, 2008
1
2
15
Trip End
Oct 12, 2008
Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh,
India
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sunday, Oct 5, 2008
I changed rooms today- complained about the bugs in my room and upgraded to a palace - 2 double beds,
several windows opening to a café and patio overlooking the Ganges, a TV with bollywood music channels and an ahhhh AC. This cost a 100Rs more than my last room (a $2 USD difference). To add, while I was at a neighboring guesthouse to check out rooms for a switch, I picked up a fellow traveler (Lee from China) to split the cost of the room, so tonight I pay $10 for my palace w/ no bugs.
Lee from China is a 30-something friendly accountant with a thick accent and moderate English speaking skills. I always thought of my travel budgets as being lean but Lee's is anorexic in comparison...Lee has been seeing much of India by way of local bus!
My boat cruise down the ganges at 6A felt beautifully special ...and not, with reason that at least a 100 of other tourist boats were out on the waters racing to make the length of the Ganges before sunrise! By boat
is the only way to see the overall bathing ghat life, morning sun salutations, chanting, meditations, yoga postures and people washing their clothes on Ganges. Man, woman and child are there- a dip in the Ganga water is considered holy and purifying, so many lather up and take a baths in it too! Most are so devout and absorbed in their water ritual, they can be nonchalant about the 100+ tourists boats observing and photographing their every move. Or sometimes, they'll be playful
with you.
My boat driver, Ajay, was a bit on the rolly-polly side and slow, stuffing his mouth with betel nut occasionally so that his explanations took on a new hybrid of Indian-betel nut garble. Then he took me to the old burning ghat where he insisted I take a walking tour. This is where every "guide" or "passing helper wants to take you, because there's a small scam to it similar to some of the tanneries in Morocco. I played
along.
The road stops here- The burning ghat burns around the clock and mountains of chopped wood
ensure the flame never goes out. The dead are brought by family members to be cremated and their ashes are thrown into the Ganges, to ensure the soul of the loved one is released from its reincarnation cycle. The
ghat has one rule: NO children, expectant mothers, saddhus or lepers. Children are considered pure souls and expectant mothers are their carriers. A saddhu will have achieved enlightenment, soul state by the end of his lives and lepers are disqualified due to the threat of disease. Instead, these exceptions will get a water burial in the Ganges via weights tied to the body (I try not to think of how many sunken corpses must be at the bottom of the Ganges).
Bodies were wrapped in white or in sari-like fabric and waited their turn at the edge of the water as I stepped off my boat onto the muddy ash-stained soot. I passed a body being burned on the pyres (& I could still make out a part of its face). But somehow, this is all not grotesque as it would seem but beautiful.
As an ancient Holy City, Varanasi (formerly called Benares) is devoted to the hindu god, Lord Shiva. Temples range from large to small, community to household and Shiva lingams (ovular rock eggs held by a shallow rock bowl/plate) make common public
altarpieces where one can pray.
Aside from larger-known temples (ie Vishwanath, Shiva, Durga, etc... ) there are thousands of temples, home and public altars within the small radius of each neighborhood.
Here, devotees bring Ganga water in tiny cup bowls for worship, using it to anoint statues of their gods, while offering anything from flower garlands, thrown petals, and sweets. Candles are burned for light and thousands of devotees throughout the day trek in and out of the temples with Varanasi "street feet". (Street feet mixed ganga water is enough to make a slightly gross watery mud which you will put back into your sock or shoes) Most of the temples like the homes here are dark - lit either by candlelight and daylight- making the god's statues barely visible. Here, in Varanasi, apparently even the gods live in darkness.
There is a humor to Varanasi Baba is lovingly known as Father, but here in photo of the sign, it also refers to a well-known guru saint.
sometimes you just have to laugh at this city...
The Underbelly :
NOT having a patience for touristy things, I come upon Uday Singh, a "palmist" who tries to read my palm...badly! We go to his friend's store and from the surprised looks I am getting from the people who
know him, I know he's trying to play a fiddle with an invisible bango! But Uday is a harmless storytelling ("liar") type whom I quickly realize can fill my day with theatrically unique experiences. I decide to let Uday sing for his 100 Rs ($2) and tell Uday that while he doesn't have to be accurate, he DOES have to be entertaining. With that, he proceeds to show me the "unofficial" sights of Varanasi.
Aside from my palm reading, Uday takes me on a tour of his friends' house temples, some larger community ones, the Monkey Temple, explanations of temple rituals and regaling stories of random fact-fiction-or-fantasy. ...And sorry Mom, NOT letting the Ganges water touch me was unavoidable.
Normal hindu temple practice: When entering temples, you HAVE TO TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF (& believe me- I really didn't want to! I walked with cupped feet)
Here is a disclosed explantion of temple ritual from the Uday Singh Tour (unfortunately, you can see how he literally acted some of this out also):
Leading me through a Shiva temple, Uday begins-
After you enter temple...
1) You ring bell as if ringing the doorbell of a house you wish to enter. Here, you are calling on God's house
( knock-knock, ring bell- "Hello God- are you home?") ;
2) Stand in front of altar and make your offering of flowers-food-money
("God- I bring you a housewarming gift ");
3) Touch statue & then lightly touch between your brows and then to
heart. This is prayer for the spirit of god to enter you.
('God, you are in my heart & spirit");
4) Make your prayer and tell god what you want
5) Take prassad from the priest. (Prassad is like an exchange "gift" in
the form of a red tikka or dot between the eyebrows, a sweet or some
kind of rope tie)
(God says "Thank you, please come again")
With this, Uday Singh touches a dripping Ganga altar with both his hands and roughly smears the Ganga all over my face and then takes prassad and force feeds it into my pursed lips.
Water height:
An interesting fact in Varanasi is that the water height changes. On the ghats, you see temples and guesthouses/hotels, etc... raised high and with steps leading up to it answering the call of a really
challenging Step-Aerobics class. This is because during monsoon season the water levels can get pretty high and half of the original ghats in Varanasi are submerged under water.
Tonight I am off to attend the evening aarti at the main ghat with Lee. The performance starts at 7P and I hear its really beautiful and not to be missed. I shall take dinner and then get dressed and go. Have to run
now.
