The City of Shiva
Trip Start
Jul 08, 2008
1
17
23
Trip End
Ongoing
Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh,
India
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tom had responded to my email and let me know where he was staying so the next morning I set out to find his place. Armed with a map from the guesthouse and a general location from the guidebook I started walking down the narrow paths that separated the ancient buildings. There was no organization to the layout of the paths as the buildings seemed to be placed arbitrarily and I soon lost track of how many lefts or rights I had taken. Fortunately I could rely on the sun as a directional guide and decided to walk east to see the Ganges River. As I snaked through the paths it felt as though I had been transported back in time. Varanasi is possibly the oldest city still functioning today. At all times the smells were dominated by either deep-frying samosas, incense, or raw sewage. There were the occasional reminders of the modern world as motorcycles would blare their horns, maneuvering through the already crowded halls. At each corner there seemed to be a different person vying for my attention: "Hello frieeeend! Hashish? Marijuana? Opium?" I would just laugh and keep walking.
I arrived at one of the ghats along the river to find worshippers bathing and even drinking the heavily-polluted water. The water level was obviously higher than normal in the rainy season, covering most of the steps that would otherwise seat the many worshippers. After being approached by several people about boat rides I decided to start walking again. I found what seemed like a main path that headed north and eventually I saw some refreshing words painted on the old block wall: "Yogi Lodge" with a large arrow, confirming I was close to finding Tom's hotel. As I walked I followed the usual routine of asking and people would point down the path. This led me right to the door of the Yogi Lodge where the men in the front room went upstairs to get Tom.
After waiting for a few minutes under the cool breeze of the ceiling fan I saw Tom emerge from the stairway with his pack and guitar in hand. He was happy to see me and following a brief reunion he informed me that he was switching hotels. The last time I saw him was in Ladakh a few weeks before and he seemed a little more weathered this time around. He checked out and we started walking north on the narrow path, where he described some of his recent experiences. "The last few days have been some of the worst I've ever had." Among other things, Tom had eaten some dodgy food that left him seriously ill and with only a couple more weeks left in his travels it was clear he was suffering from "India fatigue" as I admittedly had a minor case myself. As we continued to walk a large group passed us carrying a body on a bamboo stretcher. We were near the Manikarnika Ghat, which is the main cremation area along the Ganges and a plume of grey smoke dominated our eastern view. It is believed that dying in Varanasi offers liberation from the cycle of birth and death and the bodies are ceremoniously submerged in the waters of the Ganges before being incinerated with sandalwood.
We found the guesthouse we were looking for and checked in when I glanced at the clock on the wall. I had an hour until the checkout time at my other place so Tom sat tight while I embarked on another disorienting adventure through the colorful back roads of Varanasi. I eventually returned with my pack and Tom, now a veteran of the city, knew just the place to help offset the "India fatigue"; a restaurant that served high quality food especially prepared with the Westerner in mind. All raw fruits and vegetables were washed with filtered water and the menu boasted some ridiculous ingredients like "organic cheese produced by genuine Italian dairy farmers based in the Himalayan region". We sat in one of the booths ordering some pizza, cold drinks, and one jumbo milk shake after the other as each of us brought the other up to speed on what we had done the last few weeks.
After staying a night we rose at 4:30 am to get a boat ride along the Ganges as we wanted to see the worshipers during sunrise. Negotiating a price anywhere in India is always an experience and sometimes a downright irritation. We hired a boat for a short ride as we managed to fend off at least 10 other people trying to unload their services on us. As we drifted up and down the holy river we saw the different groups performing morning puja at each ghat. As the water's level was higher the currents were stronger than usual and the space for worship was more limited. This, however, didn't seem to take away from the Varanasi experience as we sat on the wooden boat watching the ancient rituals, movements, and colors once again transport us back in time.
