Varanasi

For Hindu's Varanasi is a very important place. If you die and are cremated here then you automatically leave the cycle of rebirth. And if you come here alive then you can bath and cleans yourself in the sacred Ganges.

I very much enjoyed my time here. There is so much to do with all sorts of rituals and events happening for both the living and the dead, which you can watch/be a part of. A friend I'd met in Africa was here at the same time as me, so we were able to meet up. Whilst I was staying in what I considered a reasonable enough place - I had a bed, a clean shared bathroom, a friendly guest house owner, and even my own miniature balcony - my friend was staying in a very smart hotel. Here we enjoyed air conditioning, a western toilet, and a restaurant with a waterfall!

Along with lots of other tourists we took boat rides up and down the Ganges early in the morning and also at sun set. Looking back at the shore we could see people bathing, doing yoga, carrying out Puja (worshiping Gods), washing clothes, socialising or sitting alone, and you could also see people being cremated. The cremations here are different to the ones I'd seen in Nepal. There I remember the faces of the dead people weren't covered and after a short ceremony the bodies were set on fire at the mouth. In Varanasi the bodies were completely covered and then the pile of wood the body rested on was set alight, rather than the body itself. Apparently the pelvis is a part of the body that normally doesn't burn. So after everything else has burnt, this is given to the head of the family to throw into the Ganges. The head of the family then takes a pot and fills it with water from the Ganges before throwing it backwards over their shoulder so it smashes, and then without looking back they leave the cremation area.

Each evening there is a ceremony held by the Brahmin priests. Lots of people chant and sing as the priests pray, moving around fire, with the belief that the smoke will form a bridge between themselves and God. Brahmins are the highest cast in India. Although the cast system in here has been made illegal by the government, it is still practiced by a lot of people living within the country and all Hindu priests are from the Brahmin cast.

 

When we weren't enjoying the hotel room and the religious ceremonies, we had a chance to explore. We found a massive cow relaxing in a shop, and guys selling Paan (a selection of edible things wrapped in a very green leaf for you to chew on) of which I'm not the biggest fan. We visited a silk factory and then a place with lots of beads. We had a look around some temples, got lost on rickshaws, and finally became unpleasantly ill. Perhaps I shouldn't have dipped my hand in the Ganges?