Good Karma, the Afterlife, and All That Jazz

We arrived in Varanasi around midnight. As usual, the train station was jam-packed with men, women, and children huddled together and/or sleeping on the concrete floor. Brendan and I keep wondering about this. Do all these people have very early trains to catch, and decided to just set up camp here overnight so as not to miss them? Have their trains just been delayed indefinitely? Or do they just sleep here all the time?

Varanasi has a bad reputation for tout scams and rickshaw drivers who try desperately to get you to stay at one of their hotels for commission money. This happens all over India, but it's particularly effective in a city like Varanasi which, being extremely old, is a jumbled maze of narrow alleyways and almost impossible for tourists to navigate on their own right away. The touts here know this. If you've already reserved a hotel somewhere, they'll tell you it's been flooded, or out of business, or that the building just burned down... anything so that you'll give in and let them take you somewhere else. Every guidebook on India warns travelers about these guys, so I have no idea who's keeping them in business. It's the most annoying thing in the world. You can scream at them to leave you alone, that you'll never go anywhere with them, that you hate them, that you hate their mothers... no matter what, they'll keep at you until you physically ride off with someone else.

We weren't about to spend all night being taxied around by a bunch of swindlers, so we'd made prior arrangements with Shanti Guesthouse to be picked up straight from the train station. Twenty minutes after we telephoned to announce our arrival, some kid actually showed up and rescued us from the small army of touts that had surrounded us like sharks. As we followed him on foot through the dark tunnels of the Old City (the paths are so narrow that rickshaws won't fit), it became obvious that we'd never, ever have found it ourselves. The guesthouse was a little shabbier than what we'd expected, but it was cheap, and we were safe.

Where do I start with Varanasi? It's just so very weird. For Hindus, the city is special because it sits along the banks  of the holy Ganges River, which starts way up in the Himalayas. In Varanasi, people incorporate the river into all sorts of activities via a series of ghats (concrete stairs that lead down to the water). They bathe, they wash their clothes , they have wedding celebrations , they dry out cow patties , they meditate , they dump the deceased...

Yes, dead people. In the river.

Apparently (and I'm really just getting a loose grasp on Hinduism here myself, so bear with me), if you die in Varanasi, you achieve some sort of enlightenment you wouldn't get by dying anywhere else. Devotees come from all over India to check out in style here, mostly by public cremation that involves dipping the wrapped body in the Ganges first. I did see a body floating in the river at one point, so maybe not everyone can afford the cremation part of the deal. There's certainly a lot of wood and manpower involved.

I know this all sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Brendan and I sat and watched bodies turning to ash over campfires with our own eyes. It's quite a production. You almost feel like you're on a big-budget movie set, watching hundreds of costumed extras carrying piles of wood around, arranging the bodies, and stoking the fires. Except that it's actually happening. The only thing I couldn't do was take any pictures, as it's understandably taboo and would have been extremely offensive to anyone who caught me. You can check out a couple of campfire hints here and here .

Strolling along the ghats or taking a river cruise is a great way to spend an hour or two in Varanasi, but the constant offers for boat rides and begging children will take their toll on you, and it's important to be able to escape to your guesthouse when you need some downtime. Our room at the Shanti Guesthouse was a small, windowless affair, but the rooftop terrace was lovely and even had internet access, so we spent at least a few hours up there  every day. Most of our fellow guests were Israelis celebrating Hanukkah away from home, and there would be much singing and candle lighting at their dinner tables. I was prepared to join in for the Dradle Song, but nobody ever sang that one. Bummer.

Five days in Varanasi was perfect for us. We walked the ghats, we watched a few cremations, we observed river life, we took a million pics , and then we were ready to exit the freak show.

Next destination: Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. I'm beside myself.

Thanks for all the support, everyone!

s

Comments

[Dalj]

Its not good luck to make fun of funerals with jokes about smores and freak shows. I don't think so at all.

[Ashlea]

Umm...so what exactly to do they do with those dried cow patties? Is it like fuel for the campfires?

[Darla]

It sounds and looks like a very interesting place.They really just throw the dead bodies in the river?

[Dalj]

Its NOT a damn campfire , Its a funeral pyre. You shouldn't tell jokes about marsh-mellowsand chocolate. Not Funny.. Did your parents tell you about Karma, ever? You'll see.

[Eric]

Sounds like a rather unpleseant place. Hopefully you're still having a good time. Have a good new year, monkeys and everything!

[Tom]

Dalj: go die in a campfire.

[Dalj]

Tom, Ignorant, uneducated trolls should go back to their troll-stations in their troll playrooms.
Go brush that troll hair. Its standing straight up.

[John]

Wow, this comment section isn't a happy place. Well.......... I'm back, after taking a long internet break. I just got done reading all of yours and Brendan's Blogs since the end of September. Wow, you guys are as amazing as ever.

-John-

[Jenna]

I personally find it offensive that you ridicule another religion. I'm not a Hindu but my husband is and the activities you are making jokes about is quite a sacred affair for most, if not, ALL hindu's. As a traveller, you should have been aware of the place prior to your visit - if you're not into that sorta thing, then India isnt for you.

[jack]

I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed the descriptions and pictures of a part of the world that i always wanted to see and doubt that I ever will.

Thanks so much Jack

Stop being bitches people!

[Liana]

Wow, people need to get off of their soap boxes. I'm missing the comment on the smores... I don't see graham crackers anywhere in there. Oh well.

I, for one, am enjoying your chronicles! Keep it up, girl!

[Buckly]

Love the blog! Keep it up. Plus, don't worry about the whiners. If they don't like it, nobody is forcing them to read it.

Look, we all say dumb things sometimes, and Sarah's original title of this entry: "Anyone for some s'mores?" wasn't very smart. To her credit she changed the original title almost immediately, and I don't think she meant to be offensive to anybody. It was just a dumb joke.

[Ohfrikenno]

hey! I think that girl with brown hair in the pics is Sarah! =D

[Charles Corey Stewart]

"Anyone For Some S'mores?"...HAHAHAHAHA, that was the original title, that's great. When a body is dead, that's it...it's dead, it's left to rot, be eaten, or done away with, within the human imagination. For me, nothing is better than a sense of humor, and I applaud Sarah for doing so. I'd love to watch that, because I'm going to be cremated. Karma only exists to those that believe in it, not the logical people of the world, those who believe in Science, not myths. Sarah, don't let the whiners change your style of blogging...good post.

[celery]

Jenna, I personally find it offensive that you ridicule people in blogs. As thumper would say: "If can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all"