Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, North India
July, 2014
We were warned to brace ourselves when visiting the holy city of Varanasi. Someone said: "It is one of the most blindingly colourful, unrelentingly chaotic and unapologetically indiscreet places on earth". How accurately true this is! Varanasi takes no prisoners. But with an open mind, we were ready for it and it became a wonderful last stop on our whirl wind tour of northern India.
Our Accommodation - Ganpati Guesthouse
We found an amazing hotel called Ganpati Guesthouse located right along the River Ganges with a roof top restaurant and wonderful views of the river. It was situated approximately in the centre of the major ghats making it an ideal place to get out and explore by foot. The owner/manager of the hotel was a fountain of knowledge and discussed Varanasi and its traditions at length with us. The customer service was outstanding and the rooms were comfortable and well maintained. It was definately a highlight of our trip.
Varanasi Evening Aarti Ceremony
The Varanasi aarti ceremony takes place every sunset at the Dasaswamedh Ghat and is a highly choreographed ceremony. It is a nightly ritual to thank and honor the gods of the River Ganges. The aarti is performed on a stage by a group of young pandits (priests) all draped in saffron colored robes with their puja plates spread out before them. It commences with the blowing of a conch shell and continues with the waving of incense sticks in elaborate patterns and circling of large flaming lamps that create a bright hue against the darkened sky. The movement of the lamps held in the pandits' hands is tightly synchronizing to the rhythmic chants of hymns and clang of cymbals. The heady scent of sandalwood thickly permeates the air as locals gather near the stage and clap and sing in unison to the music...A spiritual and uplifting experience.
A Peak Inside the Aarti Ceremony
Varansi and River Ganges
The old city of Varanasi is situated along the western bank of the Ganges and extends back from the riverbank in a labyrinth of alleys too narrow for traffic. Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities and is regarded as one of Hinduism's seven holy cities. Pilgrims come to the ghats (a word describing a set of stairs leading down to a lake or river) of the River Ganges to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters or to cremate their loved ones. It's a particularly auspicious place to die because Hindu's believe that dying here breaks the cycle of reincarnation. The most intimate rituals of life and death take place in public and the sights, sounds and smells in and around the ghats can be sometimes overwhelming, sometimes very spiritual and at other times simply catches you without words.
A Glimpse of Varanasi Along the River
Varanasi: The Burning Ghats of the Holy Ganges River
One of our most memorable experiences was visiting the burning ghat at Varanasi which can host up to 200 cremations a day. Each day a group of Doms march dead bodies through the streets of Varanasi. Doms are members of an untouchable caste yet they have the remarkable task of carrying out a devout Hindu's final ritual which happens countless times per day. In fact, while we were enjoying a mango lassi in a side street cafe, a procession of Doms went by with a newly deceased body and we followed them down to the burning ghat where we witnessed first hand the process of cremation.
The family of the deceased according to their financial means chooses one of the funeral packages each with a certain grade and quantity of firewood, sandalwood or sawdust along with straw, ghee (clarified butter) and other ritualistic paraphernalia. The body is cloaked in gold and ribbons and is paraded around town on a bamboo stretcher before it's taken to the burning ghat along the shores of the Ganges River. They transfer the corpse wrapped in plain cloth onto the pyre and pay their final respects (women do so at home and traditionally do not attend funerals but this is changing in urban India). The priest begins the rituals and the chanting part of the antim sanskaar, or last rites, which vary by region and other social factors. The chief mourner sprinkles ghee on the pyre and is then handed a torch to set it alight which is an intensely emotional moment for most Hindus. It takes about 250 Kgs of firewood and three hours to incinerate a corpse. After the burning is complete, the chief mourner and others douse the smoldering pyre with water from the river. They gather the ashes and fragments of bones in an urn and go down the ghats to empty it into the Ganga.
The family of the deceased according to their financial means chooses one of the funeral packages each with a certain grade and quantity of firewood, sandalwood or sawdust along with straw, ghee (clarified butter) and other ritualistic paraphernalia. The body is cloaked in gold and ribbons and is paraded around town on a bamboo stretcher before it's taken to the burning ghat along the shores of the Ganges River. They transfer the corpse wrapped in plain cloth onto the pyre and pay their final respects (women do so at home and traditionally do not attend funerals but this is changing in urban India). The priest begins the rituals and the chanting part of the antim sanskaar, or last rites, which vary by region and other social factors. The chief mourner sprinkles ghee on the pyre and is then handed a torch to set it alight which is an intensely emotional moment for most Hindus. It takes about 250 Kgs of firewood and three hours to incinerate a corpse. After the burning is complete, the chief mourner and others douse the smoldering pyre with water from the river. They gather the ashes and fragments of bones in an urn and go down the ghats to empty it into the Ganga.
It was explained to us that five types of bodies are not cremated here which include Sadhus, lepers, children under five, pregnant women and snake-bite victims. They are said not to need further purification by fire so instead, are floated in the sacred river. They are taken in a boat to the middle of the Ganga, tied to a stone and sunk to the bottom. However, some of these corpses or parts of them later float up to the surface, spooking unsuspecting tourists. In fact, during our 5:30am morning boat ride on the river a partially decaying corpse bumped into our boat; so yes, it happens! As we watched the spectacle from a balcony above the burning ghat, the experience was somewhat numbing and sobering at the same time. To see our common fate played out before our eyes helped remind us that oneday we will all return in one way or another to the ground. But for today, life is now...
"Beyond": A Documentary About Varanasi
We came across this documentary following a group of photographers as they journey to Varanasi. So much of its footage is so accurate and familiar to our experience we wanted to share it in hopes you may feel a small sense of what we did when visiting this amazing place. Enjoy.