5 India

Day 6 – Varanasi

The noise outside woke me well before 6.00. We had breakfast an hour later and then sat and read downstairs for a while before we left at 9.00 for a trip to the Buddhist Temple at Sarnath. This is where the Buddha travelled after achieving enlightenment to find his old friends. He gave them his first sermon because he felt they would be best able to understand his message.

Our guide was called Jay. He was very nice and very good looking. He was in our taxi as we drove to the site.

When we got out, he gave us the usual talk and I was entranced by another ground squirrel, which meant that I did not get my camera out to take a photo of the temple from the front.

The temple, called the Mulaghandakuti Vihara, was built by the Sri Lankan Mahabodhi Society in 1931. It was not as impressive as the one in Bodh Gaya. The main room where the Buddha was housed was much larger, which somehow diluted the atmosphere inside and the bookstall, set to one side, destroyed it for me completely. Why couldn't this have been kept outside the temple or in another room?

After leaving the temple, we walked to the side where there was another sapling descended from the Bodhi Tree. A service was in progress for some Sri Lankan pilgrims. We were surprised to see Burmese pilgrims. Jay explained that, despite their oppressive regime, they are allowed out of the country for genuine pilgrimage.

Around the tree were boards each containing the text of the Buddha’s first sermon in a different language. There was also a model of the Buddha preaching to his first disciples who are sitting around him.

We walked out of the temple area by a different path and went inside the nearby monastery complex. The complex mostly comprised the ruins of holy buildings – monasteries, temples and stupas, most of which were destroyed by the Mughals when they invaded India.

The ruins included the base of the main shrine or temple, of which the nearby temple was a replica.

The Mughals were told that there was priceless treasure in the stupas and one was completely razed to the ground. Then they discovered that the priceless treasure was a fragment of the Buddha and of no worth at all to anyone who was not a Buddhist. Once they realised this, the destruction was halted and one of the stupas was left untouched. This stupa dominates the complex as it is very large and the only structure not in ruins. We walked round it and noted that the surfaces which had not worn away were covered in patterns or writing. Pilgrims were worshipping by the stupa, which is especially important as it marks the place where the Buddha first preached.

We were allowed 30 minutes to explore the area by ourselves, so I set off to photograph all the ruins. As I approached the far wall, I was pestered by a teenage boy who was trying to sell me postcards.

I looked over the wall and saw some chital deer, which were originally all over the area, which is still called the “Deer Park”. Two chital had antlers, but they were too far away for the camera to focus. I had to satisfy myself with some photos of the females.

Then we sat in the shade for a short while before it was time to get back in the cars and return to the hotel. It was another crazy drive with lots of traffic and we had to stop for a cow wanting to cross the road. Cows get absolute priority and are the only road users to appear totally unfazed by all the chaos around them.

Back at the hotel, Bob, Mark and I went next door for a good lunch. It was in another hotel and we were starting to think that most restaurants in India are in hotels. I changed some more money when I got back and sat downstairs to read my book. A few of the others also came down to read/write and freeze in the air-conditioning. I had to pop up to the room to get my cardigan.

View from a Cycle Rickshaw

After a long afternoon, it was time to get in the cycle rickshaws for a fun ride to the Ganges. I could not fit in with Jude so got into another rickshaw and Jay sat next to me. We did not speak very much but he was interested in my trip to Antarctica. The ride was quite exhilarating, especially as you feel a bit more vulnerable than in a car. Again, everything was so frenetic apart from the cattle. They stand so still and quiet with an aloof air – islands of tranquillity in a sea of chaos.

There were some big traffic jams around roundabouts and some tricky right turns. Our poor chauffeur had to stand to get us uphill and went much slower than the others, but he was faster than most when going downhill – not that the traffic would let us go that fast. He kept looking back to check that his back wheels were clear of the traffic.

Sari Shop (note white models)

It was a surprisingly long ride. At one point all the hooting and ringing of bells was deafening. Jay was on his mobile and had to give up. I tried to take some photos, especially of the wonderful sari shops, which were so colourful.

Eventually we parked up and then were led very quickly through narrow alleys, with shops selling everything from very ornate jewellery to ghee. We passed two buildings with trees growing out of them. We saw some monkeys climbing round. Later people complained that they had not really been able to look at everything and it would have been interesting to linger a while. But Jay was concerned that we reached our boat on time.

We finally reached the banks of the Ganges and were under strict instructions not to take photos as funeral ceremonies were taking place nearby. Two of the Ghats (ceremonial stairs to the river) are used for cremations. These are Manikarnika Ghat and Harish Chandra Ghat.

Instead of looking at the cremations, I looked up and saw lots of swifts flying above. They must have been quite noisy as we could hear them above all the other sounds.

After our mad rush down to the Ganges, we had to wait for a while until our boat arrived. It was only a simple rowing boat with two oarsmen, father and son. They put seat covers on the planks running round the side of the boat and stored life-jackets underneath and then we were able to get on. Rafeeq and Sue sat on the front.

Basket Lanterns to guide Souls

There were small lights floating on the river where people had made wishes. The people on the other side of the boat saw a dead body floating past. I was glad I missed it. Jay explained that some people would not be cremated and given to the river instead. These included young children, pregnant women and very holy men. We started to notice lots of other boats. Some had Europeans like ours, but most contained large families of Indians. Varanasi is a very holy Hindu site which should be visited at least once in a lifetime.

It soon grew dark and we approached Dasashwamerdh Ghat for the sunset aarti ritual. The steps of the ghat were full of people and the boats began to stack many rows deep into the river. Our boat was surrounded with no way out, but we did get a good view. I felt sorry for the people in the boat behind us, which was much lower in the water, so could see less. Jay pointed out the lanterns on high, thin poles. Apparently people light them to guide the souls of members of their family who had not managed to visit Varanasi while they were alive. Lights suddenly came on and music started. The tune was strangely compelling, having lots of repetitious phrases. It was a bit like an Indian version of Oasis’ “Roll with It” or Keane’s “A Bad Dream” but with lots more repetition. We later discovered that it was a hit song at the time and nothing to do with the ritual.

The ceremony began with a group of pilgrims being led in some ritual by the Brahmins performing the main ceremony. Then the main Aarti started. There were singers and musicians and then the Brahmins were given lamps made up of pyramids of candles. They showed the lamps to the four points of the compass, waving them and holding them in various positions. The inevitable happened with sitting in the dark and I fell asleep for a bit. When I woke up, my attention was taken by a pet monkey in the boat behind us, which was happily eating a banana.

When the ceremony appeared to be in full swing, our oarsmen started to manoeuvre the boat. We eventually broke clear of the surrounding boats to go straight to the steps of the Ghat. Mark had to help me get up on the rower’s seat as we disembarked. We then had to dodge the crowds sitting and standing on the Ghat and make our way back to the rickshaws. The walk seemed much shorter than before, so perhaps we had done a scenic detour to look at the shops, even if it had been a bit rushed.

Our rickshaw driver spotted us and we had quite a fast ride back because there was less traffic. It was still hair-raising at times though. Jay and I chatted much more on the return journey. He had studied history and archaeology and got a masters degree at university. He had wanted to teach, but was unable to secure a teaching position. So he had gone into guiding, using his permit which he had gained while still studying. As well as English speaking tourists, he led tours for Spanish speakers. So we started talking in Spanish which was decidedly surreal. He told me that he had been to Naples to see Pompeii and to Spain to see some other Roman ruins. He wanted to go to Egypt and to the Maya ruins in Central America. I suggested Machu Picchu to add to his wish-list.

Jay and me

We were the first rickshaw back at the hotel. Rafeeq had arrived before us but he had cheated and got a lift back on a motorbike. We had a quick freshen up and then went for dinner. Jude felt ill and did not come down. I had a spicy mushroom kebab and green potatoes with cashew nuts. It was surprisingly tasty. Then we went back to the hotel for an early night.

Animal Corner

The Chital in the Deer Park:

A bird with a wonderful song (do you know its name?):

A monkey and baby on a roof:

And a cow - the only calm thing in the road: