April 16, 2009 - About Varanasi

Today I want to try to describe Varanasi to you. To begin with, this time of year it's HOT. Yesterday it was 112 with a low of 80. I did not have nor NEED the top sheet on my bed!
Some other quick adjectives that come to mind are: Dirty, dusty, crowded, "crazy!", smelly, junky, dilapidated, not pretty, and Nasty. That's the entire town as far as I have seen.

But enough of that - the reason this is a famous city is because it is on Ganges River, and Hindus from all over the country are brought here when they die to be cremated on the banks of the Ganges and then have their ashes thrown into the river. Therefore there is quite a "funeral" business here. From strange sounding bands that provide music for the processional walk to the river bank carrying the body on family members' shoulders ... to flowers for the dead .... to firewood.

Firewood is the most overriding thing I noticed when I got near the river. I mean stacks and stacks and large stacks of firewood. They cremate a lot of people everyday. Tourist can stand on the steps that lead down to the river and watch, but everyone is constantly told not to take photos of the families or the processionals or of the cremations since it is actually a family funeral, not a production show for foreigners. -- So - no pictures ... you just gotta see it yourself.

Now there are 5 groups of people that cannot get cremated. Their bodies are just dumped directly into the river. But the "funeral industry" is ready for this also, because a family can buy a large flat rock about 4 feet long and 6 inches thick to tie the body to, and then rent a boat and take the body out into the river and dump it in.

Now the people who do not qualify for Cremation are:
1. Holy men,
2. children under twelve years old,
3. people with leprosy
4. people with smallpox
5. people who die from the bite of a Cobra snake.

So - the diseased people just go directly into the major water source and holy bathing area
for all to enjoy!

Bathing - it is also very important to Hindus to bathe here, so in between the two main cremation
beaches are swimming beaches.

One other thing - there are large multi-story buildings along the river at the cremation beaches that house people waiting to die! I couldn't find out much about them, except - "that's where people go and wait to die", apparently a very common event. No big deal.

So - that's what makes this place famous and a tourist attraction. I'm leaving on the first available train!!!

My departure was not as early as I would have liked today due to the fact that today is election day in India. THE LARGEST ELECTION IN THE WORLD.

To keep order and to keep everyone focused, ... I guess..... , everything is closed, and NO vehicles are allowed on the streets until the polls close. Not even bicycle rickshaws. And the trains are stopped. The polls close at 5 p.m. ........ I have a 5:30 p.m. train outta town!

I will have to walk to the train station, however, about 3 kilometers. I plan to go early so that I will be at the station by the time the streets fill and the vehicles get going!!!

So for the rest of today, I will chill out (ha! - more like roast out) at my hotel, them stroll over to the train station , claim me a place on the floor, rare back on my backpack, pull out my novel, and bottle of water, and ENJOY being in India!!

What a life!!! thank you, Lord!!!
IF you want to join me - drop me a note.
Johnny