India Day 5 - Part 1 - Varanasi

A wake up call came at around 5 am and we left in tuk-tuks by 5:45 for sunrise on the Ganges. There wasn't nearly as much traffic on the roads as last night of course, and we sped through the dark streets. I realized with a start that the dark 'lumps' up against the some of the buildings were sleeping people wrapped up in blankets or sleeping bags. 

After stopping for a morning chai, we arrived at the main ghat again and proceeded to get on the same kind of boat as well. Seated on the hull were 2 classical Indian musicians; one with a sitar, the other had 2 small drums. They both spent some time tuning up their instruments. I was surprised that the drums could be tuned but this was done by adjusting some pieces in between the wall of the drum and the strings on the side. After we got out on the water a little ways, they began to play and it was delightful to listen to. The duo had two CD’s for sale and I bought both of them to enjoy back home.

The sun began to show through the haze and it turned into a red ball. There were few boats out but more and more came as the sun got higher. Like in Egypt, there were travelling salesmen on the water and I bought a miniature carved stone elephant along with a pretty necklaces which will remind me of Varanasi whenever I wear it.  

After drifting for a while we crossed back to the populated side of Ganga, as the Ganges is called by Indians. At the bathing ghat, men were in the water in undergarments cleaning and washing themselves. Hindus believe that the Ganges is a goddess and has the power to wash away sins. There were women bathing there as well, but they stayed fully clothed. 

The next ghat was for washing clothes. Men do the washing as a business and they were beating garments vigorously against washboards I think. The clean laundry was set on the various stairs to dry. Clothing was laid out in matching colours and it seemed funny to see a row of jeans lying beside each other on the steps. 

We then got to the cremation ghats. It is considered the highest honour to die in Varanasi and be cremated there beside Ganga. Men were preparing wood for burning and there was a body wrapped in reddish-orange cloth right beside the water's edge. Being there reminded me of the film "Water" which I had recently seen. It was set in Varanasi in the early 1940's and is a powerful, award winning movie. 

After that, we slowly made our way back to the main area watching the fascinating onshore activity as well as the boats and people on the water. The early morning sunlight was absolutely gorgeous and the colour in the other direction was stunning as well! It's too bad I don't compete in photography competitions any longer!

Back on shore, we were given a few minutes to explore and take photos.

Then we headed back to where the tuk-tuks were parked. There was more traffic by then and the noise was deafening to me. At one point, the right rear wheel of our tuk-tuk (which is where I was sitting), hit the cement median. We bounced off but not before I freaked out just a little. 

Our hotel felt like a peaceful oasis. When we arrived, it was time for breakfast, a little break, then off to the Varanasi airport once more. Our plane was 40 minutes late, but I met a couple from the Vancouver area (former Albertans) and we had a great visit. The flight to Khajuraho only took about 45 minutes.