Namaskar (the greeting in this part of India) with stories
from Varanasi, May 13–17, 2000 …
With desperation, we left the rain and chill in Darjeeling and headed south.
How quickly we get warmed up in this 45° celsius heat.
Head for the hills again!
Most people have some pre-conceived pictures in their minds when they think of
India.What do you think of when I say
“India” and “water”?
Well … there is the Ganges River, or Ganga, as it’s known by the Hindus, perhaps the
holiest river in the world. The Jordan
River, you say? … Yes, … but the Jordan is very holy in a historical
sense. The Ganga has been the site of
numerous holy activities by millions of people every day for thousands of
years, and it still is, as we witnessed and walked among and experienced (Yes!
… I’ll tell you about it.)
And the city of Varanasi, or Benares as it’s known by the Hindus, is perhaps the
holiest Hindu place in all of India. To
bathe in the Ganga is purifying, and thousands of people bathe at the ghats in
the mornings and evenings.
The ghats are the steps that line the Ganga.
Also to drink the waters of the Ganga is
purifying and healthy. (This I won’t
discuss further … nor will I personally try it out, either.)
To die within the area of the ghats in
Benares means that one will go directly to nirvana.
Millions of Hindus pilgrimage to Benares to
spend their last days. Cremations
continue non-stop, hundreds each day, at two of the ghats, known as the
“burning ghats”, where the ashes are then dispersed into the Ganga.
We often walked along the ghats, taking in the sights and sounds of Indian life
(and afterlife). Boys played cricket
here, as they do everywhere in India that they can find a flat area large
enough to swing the bat and run the field (sorry … I don’t know the terms in
cricket, but I hope this will do).
Sadhus (holy men) meditate and pray.
Vendors hawk their snacks, cold drinks, trinkets, and postcards. Washer men and women wash clothes. And thousands bathe, including Robert! Yes! And I wish I could
say that he didn’t put his head underwater … but I can at least say that he
didn’t drink it. It’s been said that
“Robert is more Indian than many Indians”, a high compliment. He also enjoyed a massage on the ghats.
Varanasi is an incredible city … It shall always be a favorite for us. The old city has small, narrow winding
streets. They’re too small for
vehicles, just people and water buffalo. I felt quite intimidated whenever I
rounded a bend and was facing some water buffalo sauntering in my
direction. Those big eyes were warm and
friendly, but those horns are thick and the huge bellies sway from side to
side. I envisioned being squashed
between the wall and the swaying belly, so I would duck into whatever doorway I
could find nearby. The streets are
lined with doorways and openings leading to homes, shops, restaurants. Many shops are simply small shelves in the
walls, with the shopkeepers sitting cross-legged on the shelf next to their
wares.
The Golden Temple (Visvanath) is in another part of the old city, and there the
temple is surrounded with narrow aisles of shops. This reminds me of the bazaars of Istanbul and Jerusalem.
Yes, we love Varanasi. We may go back in
July before we leave India … when the monsoons have cooled the air a bit and
the Ganga is more swollen.
I started this narration asking you what image comes to mind with the words
“India” and “water”. The Ganges may be
just one of those images. Perhaps drinking water is another of those images.
It seems that every Western tourist we meet will not dare to drink the water in
India. But, as an Indian we recently
met so aptly put it, “We care about our bodies, too, and would not put anything
unhealthy into them.” Everywhere in
India one can now find what is clearly labeled as “drinking water” … in all the
train stations, in the restaurants, at the temples. And Robert and I drink it.
Every other traveler we meet buys bottled water. We drank the “drinking water” when we were
here in 1995-96 and had no problems.
We’ve been drinking the “drinking water” now since we arrived in March
and have had no problems. We managed to
talk Joan and Petra into giving up the purchases of bottled water … and for a
few days they were fine. But then
“Delhi Belly” got them. Maybe it was
the water. Maybe something else they
came into contact with. But they
switched back to bottled water. O, Joan and Petra, we’re so sorry! (But we still swear that it’s okay to drink
the “drinking water”.)
Joan and Petra have left us (amiably), with another itinerary through Agra, Delhi,
Dharamshala, and Leh. Maybe we’ll meet
up again later.
When we finally tore ourselves away from Varanasi, we went first to Corbett National
Park (see the next report, still in the works, for the exciting elephant ride),
then Rishikesh, where the Beatles went to study with a guru in the ‘60’s, and
we’re now in Dehra Dun, where we’re planning a trek to the source of the
Ganges. Come back for future
installments!
May 24, 2000 - Warmly (and sweating still) – Surain and Robert
