Varanasi

Wednesday, March 9, 2011
This morning we were down to breakfast at the Ramada Hotel by 7:30 and then went by bus on a city tour of Delhi which is the capital of India. Seventeen million people live in this city and there are fifteen million plus cars. It is quite a modern city compared to what we have been seeing in India. We passed by government buildings, monuments, etc. but the most interesting to me was the Raj ghat where
Mahatma Gandhi was cremated after being killed at 79 years of age. Next we were back to the hotel for Chinese lunch before another ride back to the airport for a flight to Varanasi. I was pleasantly surprised to find a great Chinese restaurant in an Indian hotel.

A few sights I saw on the way to the airport were monkeys playing by the side of the road and one that makes me sad was a baby sleeping on the bare sidewalk where her mother was working on a wall behind her. I can’t believe how people sleep on the cement without any cushioning even babies. I guess that just prepares them for life in India.

Our plane was late for Varanasi so we didn’t have time to go to the hotel we would be staying in before heading for Kashi (an area of Varanasi) which is considered the most holy place in the world according to Hinduism. Our guide said it is Thanksgiving every day of the year and there is energy here. They are giving thanks for the day and to the Ganges for giving them water. Twenty thousand people make a pilgrimage to this place every night for a 25 minute ceremony that begins at 7:00 PM. It was dark by this time and we got into rickshaws two by two and followed one another through traffic of people walking, motor cycles, people pulling and pushing carts, cows, tuk tuks, cars, trucks and buses. The street was filled with people selling anything and everything and horns honking and bicycles ringing their bells. The noise was overwhelming and the place is indescribable. The feeling was electric.

We passed by a nice dress shop with a cow sitting in the middle of the store. The guide said the cow is always there during the day and when the shopkeeper closes for the night he lets the cow out. He said the cow is getting old and never does his business while in the store. The owner likes it in the store as it attracts attention and brings customers.

After a half hour ride in the rickshaw the road became too narrow and crowded and we had to get down and walk for another half mile to the Ganges River for the Thanksgiving ceremony. We arrived a little late and we had to walk around cows and lots of people to get down by the river where you could buy flower and candle arrangements to float in the river. The Brahmas’ and people were chanting and singing and there was the smell of incense in the air. John was the only one from our group to go down to the river and float an arrangement. The whole experience can’t be put into words. We walked back to the rickshaws for the half hour ride back to our bus and then to the hotel for a few hours sleep.

The next morning we were up and on the bus by 5:00 AM. Back to the Ganges again this time for a boat ride to see the sunrise, bathing and cremation rituals. The Ganges River flows from south to north but in Kashi the river makes a big loop and flows from north to south so the people believe this is a holy spot. The sunrise was spectacular but the shore of the Ganges was so interesting. The Hindus take a bath or “holy dip” in the Ganges to wash their soul and say their soul prayer. They want to achieve moksha and become part of cosmic energy and escape from the cycle of birth and rebirth or reincarnation. They believe if they die in Kashi they automatically will become cosmic energy so some people come to live their life here to be assured they won’t be born again. The men wear almost nothing into the water but the women go into the water fully dressed in their beautiful and colorful saris.

Two hundred to three hundred cremations are performed in Kashi every day. Sandalwood and essential oils are used for burning the body to prevent stench and cost $700 to $800. This is a lot of money for most Hindus and you can also be cremated by gas for about $10. A dom is the lowest of the lowest caste and he is the one who cremates the body. We saw him hitting the pile of burning sticks with another stick. The eldest male relative comes with the body to be cremated. He shaves his head and beard and also wears white to the ceremony in a sign of respect. Only men are allowed to come. Women can’t join in on the burning of the body. Nobody should be sad because the dead is reaching moksha or cosmic energy. When people are cremated in other places their ashes are sometimes brought here for the soul prayer.

We heard laughing along the river and saw there was a yoga teacher on the steps teaching students laughing yoga and the sun salutation. Then we saw men called dhobis washing clothes by bringing the clothes up over their shoulders and then banging them down on the rocks in front of them. Then they layed them out to dry. They don’t use any soap or detergent, only clay. The men do all the clothes washing in India. Everyone has their clothes washed by a dhobi even the lowest caste.

About 30 of us were rowed in our boat by two men up and down the river. We asked if there were any motor boats and were told they weren’t allowed. A few minutes later a boat with a small motor went by. We asked our guide why that boat had a motor. He said, “This is India”. We learned that during the monsoon season in July and August the river rises 40’. The steps along the river fill in with dirt and silt. When the water recedes they clean the steps off until the monsoons return again the next year.

Next we went to Sarnath where the Buddha gave his first speech under the Peeple Tree. There is no tree there anymore but a huge monument instead. Our guide showed us a Neem Tree. He said Indians break a stick and crush it from this tree to brush their teeth. He said this tree is a good medicine tree. Neem oil is used in a lot of cosmetics and it is also very healing.

The guide also said they don’t have shrinks or psychiatrists in this country. He said if he had a problem he would go to his grandmother, mother, aunt or some other elder. The extended families all live together and take care of one another. He said they each have their own personal space within themselves and they would be lonely living the way we do in the US.

The people are very superstitious. There aren’t many cats in India and they don’t like them because it is bad luck if any type of cat crosses in front of you. They also have the evil eye looking out for bad karma over the doors of their houses.

On the flight back to Chennai from Delhi we were trying to fit bags in the overhead compartment. The door wouldn’t shut so an Indian man pushed and shoved and stuffed the bags in and slammed the compartment. Everyone started laughing and he turned and said, “This is India”. That must be one of the favorite sayings around here. We arrived back to the ship about 12:30 Friday morning and our ship bed felt so good – just like being home.

The next day Dick and Linda headed out to exchange something she bought before we left for Delhi. Didn’t think she would have any luck but they got a great tuk tuk driver that took them into the store and negotiated for her. They said they would meet us at the Taj for lunch.

In the meantime John, Carol, and I got into a tuk tuk and Carol, Phyllis and Laura got into another. We were all heading to the Taj for lunch where we were to meet up with Dick and Linda. Dave and I and Carol and John showed up but nobody else. We sat and waited and waited and finally ordered lunch. Just about when we were done eating the five of them showed up together. It turns out there are four Taj Hotels in Chennai. We were at the right one and somehow the others ended up at a different one. Once they went to look for the restaurant and couldn’t find it, they realized they were at a different place and got their tuk tuk driver to get them to where they wanted to be. Dave, Phyllis, Carol and Laura went back to the ship and I stayed on with Carol and John to do a little more shopping. The three of us then hopped into a tuk tuk with Bubba for our ride back to the ship. He liked playing chicken with other tuk tuks, cars, bicycles, people, and scared the dickens out of me. I said, “Oh, my God!” more than once and he would repeat it after me just like a parrot. Sometimes he would holler He Haw! He stopped at one shop after the other hoping we would buy from his friends but we just wanted to get back to the ship. There was a man with a cobra and a mongoose outside one of the shops. We stopped to take a picture with him and of course that cost us a little money.

I loved India the last time we were here and I love it even more this time. It is a difficult culture to understand and so interesting to visit. I would love to come again but I don’t think Dave feels the same.