Our train to Varanasi (in Uttar Pradesh, like Agra) took about 12 hours to arrive and we only had half a day there. We went straight to a restaurant (where I left behind my silver ring from Jaipur) and met a very nice cycle-rickshaw man who expressed deep concern for us vulnerable tourists. He took us to some temples, the first being a Durga temple (the Monkey Temple) - red and evil. A man turned up when we went to fetch our shoes, claiming he'd been watching them for us all along. As he obviously hadn't, I gave him two Rupees and the look he gave me was reward for his lie. A Hanuman temple was next, covered in flies and monkeys. There was a group of Monkey-God devotees banging drums and cymbals, singing and shouting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama at varying speeds. They do this 24 hours a day, our friendly cyclist-driver informed us.
The river Ganges, the world-famous River of Life runs right next to the city and all along its South bank are Varanasi's most famous feature, the Ghats. These are sets of steps which run down to the river and are used for a multitude of purposes. The most obvious one being washing oneself and one's clothes. They are also used by the temples and several Maharajas have palaces here. On a less appetizing note, there are two 'Burning Ghats' where the dead are immersed in the Holy river then cremated. Only new-born babies and Sadhus (Holy Men) aren't cremated - they are tipped into the river and left for the fish.
Either way, you wouldn't catch me washing there! We got on a boat arranged by our kind rickshaw driver (Rs75 each an hour - when we met other boatmen later we discovered he wasn't so kind after all) and rowed up the river. We saw all the above, trying to resist the fascination of the cremations. Some of the Ghats are steeped in Myth, like the Dassawarmedh Ghat where Lord Brahma sacrificed 10 horses to bring back Lord Shiva, and one where some Goddess dropped her ring and Shiva ordered Krishna to dig it out (since it fell deep into the ground, of course), which he did, filling the resulting well with his own sweat. I think it's this well that they reckon re-dates the arrival of the Ganja but I'm not sure - it's all very confusing!
Our boatman decided to overcharge us so we got off and gave him some money for the rickshaw driver who'd said he'd meet us when we got back. We ventured into the town. Near the river Varanasi is a veritable maze of tiny paved streets which weave all over the place. We tried to find a temple, but went in a big circle instead, coming out at the river again. We found a little guide who'd adopted us as his tourists after we bought some postcards from him and gave him an orange. He took us to the Golden Temple whose tower is covered with several hundred kilos of gold plating.
Aurangzeb, (the son who deposed Shah Jahan who'd built the Taj Mahal), in good Muslim tradition, invaded the Hindu's Holy City, knocked down their biggest temples and built Mosques on their foundations. There's one on the site of the 'original' Golden Temple, with the new Golden Temple right next to it. The 'Great Mosque of Aurangzeb' is the biggest one here, built on the riverbank. The streets are full of armed police, just in case any Muslims happen to let it slip that they think Aurangzeb was a great bloke within earshot of any Hindus.
There were more police than usual yesterday we were told, because two men were shot in the morning. We actually passed by the street where it happened. We spent the rest of the time getting lost on purpose in the tiny streets pretending to be interested in the millions of tiny shops.
Our train was at 8pm (going on 11) so we went back to the station for dinner. I went to get my ring back (What? No, haven't seen any ring you must be mistaken - lunchtime - oh you mean THIS ring, ha, ha, here you go) which cheered me up a bit, especially since I realized on the train that I'd left my Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi films at the Taj where the prints are probably waiting for me now...
So we've come to Bodh Gaya, the place where Buddha achieved enlightenment. It's full of Buddhist temples which we'll explore tomorrow and is very small. The roads are all sand - tar - potholed and its a very poor area. There are a myriad of meditation courses available and hopefully after tomorrow I'll know a bit more about the religion.
...
If we manage to get a flight home on the 25th, it means we have three weeks left today. If it's the 21st - it's even less. I can't believe it. A week on Monday we'll be back in Madurai, Tuesday in Ramnad - then home.
What is 'home' now?1 I have no idea at the moment but when I get there I guess I'll soon get back into it. The pubs, the life, girlfriends - I haven't had a girlfriend for over a year!2 A sad state of affairs (affairs - geddit?). This Round Trip is brilliant, a real GetAwayFromItAll extravaganza. I started with some idea of a quest in mind - for what, I don't know and won't know probably, not ever.
We've seen the temples of Tamil Nadu, the churches of Old Goa, the mosques of Ahmedabad, the Ghats of Varanasi and now the Buddhist Temples of Bodh Gaya. We haven't been to any Sikh Gurudwaras yet but I'm sure we can squeeze them in somewhere! I'm learning so much, my brain will probably explode, I hope I don't bore people too much in the summer.
I've had my name sung into the Taj Mahal, it resonated for 15 seconds!3 I've been to the biggest mosque in India and I've been on a boat on the Ganges. What more can I want? This land is full of so much history, everything that exists has a story and everything has a purpose. Everything we've seen has been 'Important' and that is what I feel we've achieved. I wouldn't say that a single visit has been wasted.
- If you are easily bored by my endless musings stop reading here!
- This was nothing - it was three years after University!
- The Baha'i temple does 30secs.
