We boarded our 14 hour overnight train to Varanasi on Monday evening. There are several classes on Indian trains and we were in 3/AC which means the beds are in vertical tiers of three and it has a small amount of air conditioning. Each tier of three is opposite another one so you are in a open section of six people with no door or curtain so there are many pairs of eyes on you at any one time. For the first few hours we had the beds converted into benches and we got talking to a student from Nepal who is currently studying in Varanasi.
Men paced up and down the train selling samosas, crisps and tea and every now and again the on-board policeman would patrol the aisles swinging around his metre-long loaded gun. Sleep proved difficult because some of the male passengers seemed to have zero consideration for others and were shouting and talking loudly all night - I'm glad I bought ear plugs.
We arrived at 6am in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi which has the River Ganges flowing through it and is also infamous for being crowded and dirty. Millions of Hindus each year go on a pilgrimage to this city to cremate their loved ones; the river is extremely sacred and it's worshipped in its own right. If you ever wanted to see life unfold in front of your eyes in its entirety then Varanasi is the place to go.
It has become routine for me when I reach a new city to spend the first day getting to know the place as well as booking things (like tours and train tickets to the next destination) so Paula and I put our stuff down in our hotel and headed for a cafe that our guidebooks recommended was good for booking boat trips on the Ganges. We tried to order from the myriad offerings on the menu but as usual each request was met with, "We don't have. Come tomorrow, then we have". We've realised it's much more efficient in restaurants in India to ask what they do have available before picking something. We saw a massive rat skulking around and we told the owner, "Old building, no problem." he said nonchalantly before waving his hand and walking off. We started laughing and a Swiss couple in the table next to us were laughing too so we got chatting to them and ended up bumping into them in the city a little while later. We all decided to go and see the burning ghats together; a ghat is the set of steps leading down to the Ganges and there are many of these along the banks of the river. The burning ghat is one of these pathways to the river that is set aside for the burning of dead bodies; local Hindu families bring their dead family members along (those that don't live in Varanasi often bring their family members to the city to die) and dunk them in the holy Ganges before cremating them on open fires. On the way there we saw an advert for cadaver make-overs and there was a large poster outside showing photos of dead people's faces with all kinds of colourful make up on! There are an unbelievable amount of touts in Varanasi and you can't go for two seconds without being hassled and followed. We had been warned many times not to give money to anyone at the burning ghats as it was a scam so we were wary when many men kept coming up to us offering a good view of the funerals. We were ushered through huge piles of wood and told that they were what the family would buy to burn their loved ones - we insisted that we could find the way ourselves and that we were most definitely not giving them any money. They smiled and say they work for free and followed us anyway. We went to the top of a building and saw below the burning of the bodies; the air was thick with smoke and we were told that, depending on caste and wealth, there were three levels for the burning and three different types of wood with varied quality. Only the male family members would attend and they'd all shave their heads and watch their family member burn for three hours! This goes on 24/7 and they say that the fire has been burning there for 350 years without going out (we later found out that apparently it keeps going even in the rain and is deemed 'magic fire'). It was incredible to see such an intimate family event happening in the open.
When we were ready to go the 'free' guides demanded money just as we had been told they would. We stood our ground and said that we had warned them that we wouldn't be giving them anything. They got really angry and started chasing us saying they hope we have a really bad accident! We ran away past all the cows, goats, monkeys, dogs and pigs that have free rein of the streets of this city, past all the destitute people lying in the street begging, past all the faeces and rubbish on the floor and past all the rickshaw drivers and shop owners trying to get money from us. Varanasi was hard work! We walked around the river banks a little more, booked train tickets to our next destination in two days time and then went for a 'secret beer' in a cafe in a holy area where alcohol is strictly prohibited. Every evening there is a Puja ceremony on the banks of the river where they use fire and dance to pray to the river and for the souls of the people who have been laid to rest there. The atmosphere was electric and everyone was clapping along as they painted red dots on our foreheads.
Once we had been to the ceremony we were more than ready to retreat back to our hotel - the people, sights, touts and heat in Varanasi were overwhelming! We decided that a cycle rickshaw would be the best way to get home as it a half the price of an automated one so after being surrounded and shouted at by fifteen men in the dark streets trying to fight over our custom we finally squeezed into the back of one and set off. The poor driver was working very hard as parts of the journey were uphill and all of it was on potholed roads with crazy drivers beeping and rushing past. Of all the things I have seen in India I think this skinny guy mopping sweat of his brow for forty minutes in exchange for the equivalent of £1 whilst we sat in the back like some kind of royalty was what stirred the most emotion in me so far. It felt really wrong to be sitting there whilst he worked so hard so we ended up paying him double what we'd originally agreed. We ate dinner at the hotel in relative silence and went to bed - it had been a long day!
Paula tried to tell his future with her crystals!
Train outfit!!
Men paced up and down the train selling samosas, crisps and tea and every now and again the on-board policeman would patrol the aisles swinging around his metre-long loaded gun. Sleep proved difficult because some of the male passengers seemed to have zero consideration for others and were shouting and talking loudly all night - I'm glad I bought ear plugs.
The sleeper carriage.
We arrived at 6am in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi which has the River Ganges flowing through it and is also infamous for being crowded and dirty. Millions of Hindus each year go on a pilgrimage to this city to cremate their loved ones; the river is extremely sacred and it's worshipped in its own right. If you ever wanted to see life unfold in front of your eyes in its entirety then Varanasi is the place to go.
Cows everywhere!
The River Ganges.
It has become routine for me when I reach a new city to spend the first day getting to know the place as well as booking things (like tours and train tickets to the next destination) so Paula and I put our stuff down in our hotel and headed for a cafe that our guidebooks recommended was good for booking boat trips on the Ganges. We tried to order from the myriad offerings on the menu but as usual each request was met with, "We don't have. Come tomorrow, then we have". We've realised it's much more efficient in restaurants in India to ask what they do have available before picking something. We saw a massive rat skulking around and we told the owner, "Old building, no problem." he said nonchalantly before waving his hand and walking off. We started laughing and a Swiss couple in the table next to us were laughing too so we got chatting to them and ended up bumping into them in the city a little while later. We all decided to go and see the burning ghats together; a ghat is the set of steps leading down to the Ganges and there are many of these along the banks of the river. The burning ghat is one of these pathways to the river that is set aside for the burning of dead bodies; local Hindu families bring their dead family members along (those that don't live in Varanasi often bring their family members to the city to die) and dunk them in the holy Ganges before cremating them on open fires. On the way there we saw an advert for cadaver make-overs and there was a large poster outside showing photos of dead people's faces with all kinds of colourful make up on! There are an unbelievable amount of touts in Varanasi and you can't go for two seconds without being hassled and followed. We had been warned many times not to give money to anyone at the burning ghats as it was a scam so we were wary when many men kept coming up to us offering a good view of the funerals. We were ushered through huge piles of wood and told that they were what the family would buy to burn their loved ones - we insisted that we could find the way ourselves and that we were most definitely not giving them any money. They smiled and say they work for free and followed us anyway. We went to the top of a building and saw below the burning of the bodies; the air was thick with smoke and we were told that, depending on caste and wealth, there were three levels for the burning and three different types of wood with varied quality. Only the male family members would attend and they'd all shave their heads and watch their family member burn for three hours! This goes on 24/7 and they say that the fire has been burning there for 350 years without going out (we later found out that apparently it keeps going even in the rain and is deemed 'magic fire'). It was incredible to see such an intimate family event happening in the open.
Piles of wood for the cremation. Spot the random goats climbing amongst it.
The fires you can see are bodies that have nearly finished burning and the crowd of people are gathered around a body wrapped in cloth that they are about to put in the river and then burn.
When we were ready to go the 'free' guides demanded money just as we had been told they would. We stood our ground and said that we had warned them that we wouldn't be giving them anything. They got really angry and started chasing us saying they hope we have a really bad accident! We ran away past all the cows, goats, monkeys, dogs and pigs that have free rein of the streets of this city, past all the destitute people lying in the street begging, past all the faeces and rubbish on the floor and past all the rickshaw drivers and shop owners trying to get money from us. Varanasi was hard work! We walked around the river banks a little more, booked train tickets to our next destination in two days time and then went for a 'secret beer' in a cafe in a holy area where alcohol is strictly prohibited. Every evening there is a Puja ceremony on the banks of the river where they use fire and dance to pray to the river and for the souls of the people who have been laid to rest there. The atmosphere was electric and everyone was clapping along as they painted red dots on our foreheads.
The banks of the Ganges just before the Puja started.
The Puja performers danced with fire and smoke to the beat of drums.
The red dot was a bindi which acts as a third eye to ward off bad luck.
That was some experience Jennifer! goodness knows what would have happened if they had seen you taking photos ha! Hope you are soon moving on to somewhere a bit calmer are you?! Mum x
ReplyDeleteIt seems that it is the centre of India that is quite intense like this and I won't be going to the South for another few weeks x
DeleteWow!sounds immense!!seeing all those dead bodies must have been a sight!!scary stuff being in a place like that!so glad you didn't do that on you own!!xx
ReplyDeleteIt was the photos of their faces that was the weirdest thing! It is very intense here! X
ReplyDelete