Day 131, Varanasi [Friday 11th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 130, Allahabad [Thursday 10th April 2008]
Next day: Day 132, Varanasi [Saturday 12th April 2008]
We get the bus from Allahabad to Varanasi early in the morning. Kate, sitting separately from me, is accosted at one point by a man with extremely faltering English. It turns out, almost inevitably, that he is an English teacher in a school. God help his pupils!
We arrive at the bus stand with some trepidation, following the number of warnings we have heard about pushy touts, con artists and scams on the go in Varanasi. In fact we have to walk out to the road and manually flag a rickshaw down, and he drops us almost all the way to the river Ganges — the final part is pedestrians only. The driverpoints the way and we walk the remaining distance. We do attract a few touts, who are easily spotted by their awkward sideways glances, a slowing of pace, and the sleazy, hushed tone with which they deliver their offer of cheap, cheap room. Luckily we had telephoned ahead and booked a room at a hotel, so we know roughly where we're headed and can ignore them and walk on. We're booked into the Rashmi Guest House, right next to Manmandir Ghat, with a view over the Ganges from its sunbaked rooftop.
Our first view of the river, though, as we approach on foot, is not of water but of sand. Coming through the old town the first thing we see at the end of a long, narrow alley is a vast, hazy sandy plain. It stretches all the way to the horizon, where it meets the smudgy grey of a line of trees. My guess is that the water level is currently low, and that the glacier melt and monsoon would swell the river to cover this sandy expanse. But the immediate impression as you walk through the noisy mayhem of a typically Indian market scene to be faced with indistinct emptiness is one of an ancient city, just built, on the edge of civilisation. It's astounding. Then, advancing, we see the river. The Ganga — wide, flat and calm. A pale, milky blue.
The truth is, of course, that this city Varanasi — or Benares — is an ancient one, one of the oldest on earth. It doesn't look like it's changed much.
It's so hot, about 40 degrees C. We walk along the ghats which line one side of the river. No one is around. Everything is quiet and still. The ghats are a series of large concrete steps leading down into the water, sometimes connected to a riverside property such as a temple or haveli. They are all public areas, and it is possible to walk the entire length of the river here along the ghats. Each one may have a certain significance or history which attracts people to it. There are also several 'burning ghats' where cremations take place in the open air.
Occasionally, as we walk, boat men lazily proposition us. Even here there are some childish men who intone inanities towards Kate in flutey English. But mainly it's hot, quiet and still. We reach the main burning ghat, Manikarnika. The wall of heat from the cremation fires is impressive, enough to feel uncomfortable hot as we pass by. Four fires are burning simultaneously and there is a fifth pyre constructed out of logs, containing the body of a person, waiting to be lit. People are gathered on the steps, watching and waiting. Although there does not appear to be much sadness, there is tone of heaviness in the air here. Nearby is one of the great piles of wood, and the scales which weigh the cost of each cremation.
That night we watch the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Dasaswamedh Ghat, the steps crowded with people ‚Äî mostly Indians plus some westerners. Children sell butter-candles to float on the water. Musicians sing and play table and harmonium, broadcast through giant speakers. Five brahmin boys stand on platforms performing the synchronised movements of the ritual — bell ringing, petal throwing, circling incense and fire around their heads with great, long swoops of their arms. The ceremony ends with a call and response, with most of the crowd enthusiastically raising their hands in the air. "Jai!" they shout.
Back at the hotel, on the rooftop in the warm air, we eat a mediocre meal of saagwaal gosht and naan.
Next day: Day 132, Varanasi [Saturday 12th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 130, Allahabad [Thursday 10th April 2008]