Varanasi

We finally left the boats and the hard-working crew (who deserved and received a large tip from the group) and travelled by car to Varanasi. This is perhaps the holiest city in India. Hindus believe that to die in Varanasi means automatic salvation and escape from the cycle of death and re-birth. There are over 100 ghats (sets of stone steps leading down to the river) where thousands of devout Hindus ceremonially cleanse themselves in the holy water of the River Ganges. Although spiritually pure, the Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers on Earth, with raw sewerage pumped into it by the megalitre and thousands of bodies deposited into it each year.


We wandered about the city and the ghats. There were cremations at the burning ghats – photographs of the burning ghats are forbidden so you will just have to imagine a huge pile of wood burning furiously with a body quickly being consumed by the flames. When the fire is out, the ashes and bones are swept into the Ganges.


On the next day (20th November) we went to Sarnath, the site where Buddha gave his first sermon. The photo shows part of the ruins of a monastery erected by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC to commemorate the spot. Buddhist pilgrims come here from thousands of miles away to pay homage. They are dressed in white and chant prayers ar various points in the complex.


We returned to the Ganges at Varanasi for an evening candle and flower ceremony. We were rowed into the middle of the Ganges and given tiny bowls made of dried leaves, containing a lit candle and a flower. We released them onto the surface of the water and were entitled to ask Mother Ganga to grant a wish, which would be granted as long as we didn’t reveal what we wished for. So I guess you’ll never know whether it works or not! :-)

We watched an evening puja on the ghats from our boat, along with hundreds of devout Hindus and perhaps less-devout tourists. The boats were all packed close together, and young boys stepped from boat to boat selling chai masala (milky tea with ginger and cardamom). Without doubt this was the best chai masala we had tasted in India – it was full of flavour and not too sweet. We watched in fascination as the boys walked between the boats carrying their large tea pots with a burning stove fixed underneath them. Then one tea pot ran out and a boy started to make a fresh batch. He took a cup and filled the tea pot with water directly from the Ganges! Right near the burning ghats, with bodies still visible in the dying fires, and straight into the tea pot. Now we know the secret to a great chai masala – just add raw sewerage and partially burnt bodies and ashes. Mmmmmm!