Pandit Shivnath Mishra, Sitar Maestro

Our last evening in Varanasi, our guide Naveen took us to the home of an internationally known Classical sitar player. As usual, we had no idea of what to expect.

 I think I mentioned that Varanasi is a bit of a chaotic city filled with construction, open sewers, cows, pigs, etc.  Well, we got out of our van and began walking through some very narrow alleys.  Suddenly, Varanasi seemed more organized, clean and comfortable.  Don't get me wrong, we did have to pick our way through cow droppings and around cows.  But we also walked through groups of children playing and people coming and going.

This sight is such a surprise after being on the main streets.

The door we entered is to the right of the photo.

We entered the house and were directed to the basement, where chairs were set up in front of a platform.  We sipped massala chai and listened to a musician playing classical Indian violin accompanied by a tabla player.  The tabla looks a bit like bongo drums.  Then we heard another musician play the harmonium and sing with the tabla player.  Both were very enjoyable.

But then, the two musician's uncle appeared, took the stage and we were transfixed.  Sitar is now my favorite. Pandit Shivnath Mishra is older than he was when this photo was taken, and quite frail.  However, he can still play and travels around the world sharing his music.  We were delighted that he shared it with us.

The Oldest and Holiest City in the Morning

Varanasi Part 2

The more days we spend in India, the more we realize how religious and ritualistic the people are.  Last night we witnessed  Aartic chanting, which is a prayer to the River Goddess Gunga (the Ganges).  This morning we witnessed similar prayer chanting to the river but we saw it from land.  All Hindus are required to pray twice a day.  The group chanting we have seen here is special because we are at the Ganges, and we are in Varanasi.  Most people do their morning and evening rituals in a smaller form at home.

Vedic Chanting used to be only performed by men.  Since Modi became prime minister, women are encouraged to take part in the prayers.  We sat in the pre sunrise cold, facing east, by the side of the Ganges. We watched preparations unfold.  7 tables were set up in front of us with white table cloths and lots of ritualistic gadgets.  Eventually 5 young women started chanting mantras in Sanskrit off to our side.  After about 15 minutes, they moved their chanting to a shelter and started a fire for the cleansing ceremony.  They continued chanting, and sprinkled herbs on the fire. Anyone was allowed to enter and add their own prayers to the ceremony by tossing on various herbs.

While the cleansing ceremony was going on,  7 young men in wonderful red robes got on the 7 tables and started their own chanting as they raised lanterns in precise dance like forms facing north, south, east and west.  As they performed these rites, the sky began to lighten and the sun slowly started its ascent.  I forgot I was cold as I watched the magic unfold.

We left the chanting before  the crowds dispersed, and got on a boat and started down stream.  The ghats looked so different in the morning.  The magic and spirituality from the night still existed but it all looked a little tawdry.

We floated by the cremation ghat.  Most mourners from the night before were gone. Presumably  their deceased had successfully passed into heaven. One cremation was happening, and of course the central holy fire was still lit.

We passed many laundry ghats.

We saw  people bathing, or doing their own private morning chanting by the river side.

We even had the opportunity to buy jewelry. This boat pulled up to ours in an attempt to sell.

Eventually we pulled our boat up to some steps in the middle of men doing prayers and bathing, and we clambered out and up the very steep steps. We didn't realize how steep all the ghat steps are until we got out of the boat and had to hoist ourselves up them.

At the top of the steps we followed a few little tiny alleys and found ourselves in a small open area, nestled between substantial buildings.  It was the local gym and mud wrestling venue.  Mud wrestling is also a ritualistic activity.  We watched the men enter, touch the guru's feet, rub themselves first in oil and then in dust in preparation for wrestling.

Indian version of 24 Hour Fitness.

65 year old guru warming up by flinging a ball of cement around.

The only white boy looked out of place but seemed to know what he was doing.

 Before the wrestling begins, holy water from the Ganges is sprinkled, a small fire is lit and the men line up for prayers.  We left before the wrestling began, but we enjoyed the warm up and the prayers.

Guru is on the left.  Where is the white boy?

It has been so interesting to see how much time Hindus spend on rituals.  All activities have their special rituals...................weddings, death, morning, evening and even mud wrestling.  And we've just scraped the surface of this amazing culture.

The Oldest and Holiest City in the Evening

Varanasi Part 1

Varanasi, also known as Benaras and Kashi,  is the oldest inhabited city in the world.  It is about 3,000 years old.  Hindus, Buddhists and Jains believe that it is holy.  Mark Twain was enthralled by the legend and sanctity of Varanasi and wrote, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together."  I agree.  This city is crumbling around me as I write.

We started our tour of Varanasi by visiting Sarnath, which is where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his 5 friends after he achieved enlightenment.

Detail of one of the Hindu temple ruins.

Ruins of Hindu temples dating around 500 BC.

The stupa is a solid structure that commemorates Buddha's first sermon after he attained enlightenment. It is supposed to have relics of Buddha buried in it.

We visited the Ganges River and the ghats (stairs going to the water) that line it, twice.  Our first visit was in the evening.  We watched an Aarti ceremony from a boat. The Aarti Ceremony is when Hindus pray to the River Goddess Gunga in the evening.  Ear plugs and insect repellent were recommended.  It turned out that, although covered in Deet, I didn't see any mosquitoes, and I forgot to use my earplugs.  Yes, it was noisy with bells and chants, but listening to weddings night after night prepared me for the cacophony of this evening ritual.

We took a van through the crumbling streets and alleys and arrived at a beach on the Ganges.

Once we arrived, our guide Naveen negotiated a boat ride for us and we headed upstream.  I think our boatman was about 13 years old and totally comfortable on the water.

Notice the ghats behind us.  The river is lined with around 80 sets of these stairs leading to the water.

Our first stop was at the cremation ghat.  Hindu rules state that the deceased must be cremated immediately.  If a person is lucky enough to die in Varanasi, this ghat is where the body is taken for cremation. Cremation is the 16th and final ritual in life.

When a person dies, the family members wrap the body in white, put a piece of gold jewelry in the mouth and place the body on a primitive stretcher made of slim branches.  The body is covered in a lovely red and gold cloth. The men of the family bring the body to the  cremation ghat and dip the body in the Ganges. The red and gold cloth is discarded, and the family finds a spot to build a fire and start the cremation.  The family must pay a professional to manage the cremation, and pay for the kindling, wood and fire.  The family stays until the body is gone.  Then, a person of the lower classes sorts through the ashes, searching for the piece of gold jewelry.  Women do not participate in any of the ceremony.

The cremations are happening on the left, near the shore.  No photos allowed when we got closer.  Cremations happen 24 hours a day.

Painting of the cremation ghat in our hotel lobby.

We left the cremation ghat and continued up river toward the Aarti ceremony, which is the evening prayer to the River Goddess Gunga.  This is where the earplugs would have been useful except I got caught up in the moment and forgot about them.  The ceremony is being conducted under the umbrellas.  You can see boats and people in front of us.  There was quite a crowd on both land and river.

Aarti ceremony on the Ganges.

Demonitisation - An Essay by Dr. Dennen

The rupee situation has been very interesting to observe.  Fortunately for us, almost everyone accepts US Dollars, so we have been much less affected than we first thought.  Prime Minister Modi seems to have been driven by two factors in outlawing the 500 and 1000 rupee notes, the two largest denominations.  First there is a huge amount of avoidance of the income tax.  Most transactions are in cash, so we understand from various conversations with Indians as we have traveled that there is a great deal of unreported income. Second, Pakistan allegedly prints a lot of high quality counterfeit rupees both to earn money and in hopes of destabilizing the rupee.  Without exception, all of the conversations we have had with guides, drivers, people in shops and restaurant, is favorable to Modi.  We have been told repeatedly that those opposed to the move are those with lots of unclaimed income and other politicians (who also may have lots of unclaimed income).

India seems to be changing very fast under Modi.  One of his election slogans two years ago was "toilets, not temples." We have spent a few days in rural areas, and many villages we have been in or through for the first time have a little cement building with indoor toilets.  This is especially good for women, as they do not have to go out into the fields to do their bodily functions.  Unfortunately, in the fields they at risk of rape, whereas the new toilets are near the village centers.  There is also massive investment in infrastructure going on.  We were in the city of Veranasi  for the last few days. There, they are building a new highway, putting in a big underground sewer system, and building a sewage treatment plant.  Open sewers are still in operation so the city is a mix of old and new. Our guide told us this these projects have created 10,000 jobs.

Our view if India is distinctly limited.  We are staying in nice hotels, and are mostly seeing the sights from a van with a guide.  But we did get out to rural areas, and have walked a bit on our own in cities.  What about begging? Everyone says to not give money to child beggars.  There are enough school slots for all children, and school is where children belong, not on the streets begging.  The more difficult situations are moms with babies, people with handicaps (missing limbs, etc.) and the elderly.  But our guides tell us not to give money to beggars -- if we want to help, we should give to NGOs, where people who understand life in India can make better decisions about where to best apply money.

Taylor contemplating the current economic situation from the Ganges River in Varanasi.

Personal Space in India

There is none.

Agra to Delhi - Bathrooming

Every time we travel, our friends are interested in the bathroom situation.  For the most part, we have experienced western style toilets with only a few "squats."  Our hotels have been five star extravaganzas.  Nothing really to report.

In Agra, we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel.  It has been the most "American" of our venues with a few quirks.  One of the quirks is the view from the picture window right outside our room.

This photo is shot through the dusty window, but it gives the sense of a charming village scene.  Actually, there is a construction site to the left of the tents, and this is where the workers are living.  At night, it's somewhat charming with bonfires, but keep in mind exotic weddings are happening all around it.  Follow the path near the bottom center of the photo.  It leads towards the hotel.  Right beneath our window people are doing their bathrooming.  I felt it was too intrusive to take a photo, so you will just have to imagine it.

The next bathroom story has no photo so you will once again have to use your imagination.  We stopped our van at a road side rest stop half way between Agra and Delhi.  I went into the restroom with my two fellow female travelers and boy were we shocked and awed. There must have been 60 women in a restroom with 8 stalls.  No one was line, everyone was pushing and shoving to get to a stall.  The women were mostly short and sari clad, from Sri Lanka.  There were a few muscular Buddhist nuns thrown in.  We quickly realized we weren't going to get to use the toilets unless we also started pushing and shoving.  You cannot imagine the chaos.  In order to get to use a toilet I practically had to go into the stall with the woman who was using it before me.  Women were also pushing and shoving on the way out.  The odd thing was, I could feel myself being pushed, but when I turned around to confront the pusher she was so short I couldn't find her.

When we finally emerged, the three men couldn't believe how long it had taken us to do our business, and that we were so disheveled.

 I wish I had taken a photo, but I was afraid that if I got jostled and dropped the camera I would be trampled while retrieving it. There was  no such thing as personal space in there.

Here's hoping that was a once in a life time experience. 

Happy Thanksgiving

from the Taj Mahal

The front gate

Surprise!  The Taj Mahal isn't all white.  It's covered with semi precious stone inlay.

I still can't believe I stood right here!

View from the mosque built right next to the Taj for the 20,000 workers who built it.