Here, we experienced one of the most intense days ofmour lives.
Situated on the holy Ganges River, Varanasi is among the very oldest living cities in the world. It’s a city of learning that’s an important pilgrimage destination for Hindus and offers an instant route to Heaven for those who die there.
We arrived on Diwali, the festival of lights that marks the new year on the Hindu lunar calendar. It’s hard to convey the intensity of Varanasi: the crowds; the traffic; the smoke from exhaust, fireworks and cremation; and the smells of food, incense, garbage, and human and animal waste.
To get in tune with Varanasi, we began with a blessing by Hindu priests at an informal shrine in the basement of a yoga center. The blessing was participatory and included chanting, incense lighting, offerings of rice and marigolds, and colored forehead markings applied by the priest.
Then, a high speed bicycle rickshaw ride took us through packed streets down to the main “ghat” on the Ganges waterfront.
The waterfront of Varanasi is a series over 100 ghats – wide steps down into the river, often with a temple or palace at the top.
When we arrived, hundreds of people were already there, milling about and finding a spot for the Hindu ceremony that occurs here 365 evenings a year. But first, we got on a large wooden boat to gain a broader perspective on the city. Two young oarsman paddled our boat, and two young musicians serenaded us on a sitar and a tabla.
As we glided north on the Ganges, we saw several fires burning in the distance. Cremation is the Hindu custom. In Varanasi, 150 of these cremations occur each day. The males in the family bring the deceased here, cover the body in orange cloth, and dip the wrapped body in the river. The body is then enclosed in a large stack of wood, and soaked in several gallons of ghee (clarified butter). Hindus do not memorialize the remains; they are put into the river. Men stand waist-deep on the river, amidst the ashes, and feel with their feet for jewelry or other valuables.
By dusk, thousands of people had gathered on the main ghat for the nightly ceremony that offers thanks to the river: the Mother Ganga. Seven priests performed the rites in unison, accompanied by chanting, bell-ringing, gong-beating and hand-clapping. Smoke and incense filled the air.
Our emotions were brimming as we felt the cumulative effect of the blessings, the high-speed ride through town, the river at sunset with the powerful image of the cremations burned into our memories and finally this huge ceremony.
We returned to our hotel by boat, everyone quiet, and each of us making a silent wish as we placed tea lights into the black river.
For more photos, see our Varanasi slideshow.
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