Varanasi, ooohhhh Varanasi. Well ‘I smell dead people’ is a very appropriate start to this blog entry! Varanasi is situated on the confluence of 3 parts of the Ganges. It is the spiritual home of Shiva (the destroyer in Hindu religion) and hundreds upon hundreds of people on their death beds make their final journey here to have their body cremated by the riverside on the ghats- steps declining down towards the waters edge, 80 step sections in total. The day we arrived, we took a boat out on the river with our own sitar and tabular player to watch the sun go down. 120 candles in dried leaves were then lit and we were told to make a wish and then place each one in the river. Ok, the first couple each we took quite seriously but then we got the giggles and felt disrespectful but couldn’t help it. As we ran out of things to wish for we started wishing for ridiculous things such as controlling out stomach issues! On the way back we rowed through a portion of the floating candle causing them to capsize which we both found hilarious as if this happens the wishes don’t come true!
The following day, we woke up early to take a boat trip alongside the ghats and marveled at the riverside activity as the sun rose. Hordes of locals were bathing themselves, several were taking a leisurely swim, the washing of laundry from Saris to hotel sheets was well underway, water was being collected for domestic purposes and the cremation sites were being set up- anything goes on the Ganges!
We then spent approximately 4 hours at a local silk maker- it was fascinating to watch how saris are made (such intricate work) and a feast of colour to our eyes as literally hundreds of pure silk products we shaken out in front of us from duvet covers to scarves. This was ensued by a terrifying cycle rickshaw journey whereby we literally had to cling on for dear life to each other- rubble filled pot holes a plenty, as well as suicidal cows and chickens!
During the afternoon we decided to take a mini adventure to the central backstreets of Varanasi to make the most of our free afternoon. We followed instructions given to us by Roberto and headed to the first round about to then turn right. What we didn’t know was than Roberto had taken a rickshaw where as we were relying on the power of our feet. After 40 minutes of practically running we arrived at the roundabout- Jess was extremely stressed by this point as rickshaws and cyclists had constantly pursued us since leaving the hotel, not understanding the word no and insisting on cutting in front at every possible occasion! After admiring the offerings of the backstreets for a while we walked back along the riverside steps which were far more relaxing! We came across the cremation site as a ceremony was about to start but decided to move swiftly. We felt that it wasn’t our place to watch and would be quite distressing to witness.
mmmeeeeee hhhhheeeeee
The next morning we woke up at 4.45 am to make our way to the Nepalese border. We both felt quite sad to leave India behind- our time in the country had felt like such a whirlwind, a sensory overload in every sense. We had both found India quite tough at times- the poverty is so extreme, like nothing we had ever seen before. Beggars are constantly approaching you and it is so hard to say no to the children. The thing is that it is hard to know what to do- money is often taken straight off the beggar to the master person who is controlling that section of the street and as soon as you delve out pens, balloons or sweets, all children in the neighborhood come running and fights between them ensue as they are so desperate. India is definitely a tough place to be but we both enjoyed our time there and hope to return. We both left having such admiration for the strength of the people that no matter how hard life gets, they still embrace you into their homes, greet you with a smile and kids are so affectionate towards you, it’s very humbling.
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