Oh, the Places We'll Go

The city of Varanasi is the spiritual headquarters of the Hindu religion. The mighty Ganga (Ganges) River flows through the city, and it is because of this holy river that Varanasi is so important.

The Heart of Varanasi - the Ganga River

Boat's eye view from the Ganga

People make pilgrimages from all over India (and the world) to visit Varanasi and to be in the presence of the mighty Ganga. It is believed that a lifetime of sins can be washed clean with a simple dip in the water, which easily explains its popularity (and people’s willingness to get in a disgusting river)! Life revolves around this river, and day or night you can find people bathing, doing laundry, leading their cows to drinks, cooling off, playing, praying, fishing, and the list goes on. Sadly, the river is grossly polluted and extremely unsafe for swimming (by our standards), however, that did not stop thousands of devoted Hindus from rejoicing in it every day.

Laundry on the Ganga

Cows in the Ganga

Trash along the Ganga

Bathing in the Ganga

Because of its spiritual importance and the fact that its waters eventually reach the sea, many Hindus opt to honor their dead via cremation on the banks of the Ganga. It is believed that if you die in Varanasi, your soul will be released from the endless cycle of reincarnation that largely defines the Hindu religion. Every day at dawn and dusk, you can see the smoke of different cremation ceremonies taking place. The cremations take place at specific ghats, or docks, dedicated to such ceremonies. Some ghats are reserved for laundry-doing, some are for bathing and still others are for cremation. The cremation ghats are easy to distinguish as the shores are packed with thousands upon thousands of logs of firewood. Photos of creamation ceremonies are forbidden.

Burning Ghat

Fuel for the cremations

Ghats on the Ganga

Though a very eerie idea for us to wrap our heads around, it is a perfectly natural and wonderful thing for many Indians. The intensity and extremes of Varanasi are a perfect representation of the eccentricity of India. It was a wonderful and eye-opening last stop for us in a country that throughout our visit, we loved and hated every day.

Scenes of Varanasi

Scenes of Varanasi

The streets of Varanasi

Animated Hindu God Painting

I see the appeal of Hinduism. Where at home religion is a part of your life, in India it is so intertwined with life that it’s hard to differentiate one from the other. There is so much color, light, music, and opportunity for celebration in the faith. Religion is part of your cuisine, your style, your friends, even your social standing in the community. For young children, there are animal gods, many dressed in different costumes and there are numerous, fun stories about their powers and various manifestations.  If I was a kid and I had to chose between dressing up, being quiet, behaving and going to church or getting to run around with all my friends while fire twirlers were performing and cymbals were gonging, it wouldn’t be hard decision.

One Hindu celebration that we witnessed in both Rishikesh and Varanasi was called the Ganga Aarti Ceremony. Ganga Aarti is performed everyday along the banks of the Ganga (Ganges) river. There were so many people and so much energy surrounding the event that it literally felt like a once a year type celebration – a 4^th of July if you will. But no, this was just another regular Tuesday, or Wednesday or any day – it didn’t matter. The ceremony features priests facing the river and performing various symbolic offerings with candles, and rice, and feathers, etc. Meanwhile another man is leading the group in song or just chanting. Hundreds of people are along the riverside releasing candles into the Ganga. Thousands of others are sitting nearby watching the ceremony while still many more are just standing around talking, from what I could tell.

Nightly Ganga Aarti Ceremony in Rishikesh

Sarah participating in the ceremony

Flower boats for release into the Ganga during the ceremony

Varanasi Ganga Aarti Ceremony Madness

Ganga Aarti in Varanasi

Where in church, silence is expected, believers are attentive, and things go in a particular order, that could not be farther from the truth here. People move and listen and come and go and participate however they wish. It’s messy, it’s chaotic, it’s loud, and it’s just part of everyday life; but because it is impossible to separate religion from life, nobody tries to.

I’d just like to take a moment here to recognize the utter deliciousness of Indian cuisine. We’ve been big fans of Indian fare for years, and one of the big draws of visiting India was eating the food. And I must say, we were anything but disappointed. While we never fully knew what we were getting, it was nearly always delicious. Our favorite dish was the Thali, which is tray of different curries – kind of like a sampler platter. Each thali would be different, featuring the restaurant’s curries of the day.

Thali from Rajasthan

Our last meal in India - a Varanasi Thali

Other favorites include dosas (super thin pancakes wrapped in a tube and filled with curry), malai kofta, and butter chicken.

Masala Dosa in Delhi

Paneer Dosa

In an effort to learn how to recreate this deliciousness at home, we even took a cooking class. We’ll give it a try when we get back, but I have a feeling we won’t quite be able to capture the rich flavors that burst out of ever bite here.

Arriving in the north after 2 weeks in Rajasthan, I needed to take a step back to re-evaluate my interactions with the people around me. It really disappoints me to say that my overall impression of Indian people was pretty low through Rajasthan. A severe lack of authenticity and genuineness. These outrageously persistent, annoyingly intrusive people have put me not only on the defensive, but on the antagonistic approach going into every new conversation. How is this person going to attempt to take my money? Will he be frank and pushy, or beat around the bush a bit before laying his pitch on hard. They have no qualms about creating super awkward and uncomfortable moments – in fact, this discomfort generally helps their cause, as many people will just pay up to get out of the situation. To some extent, I can understand the competition in this country, and the need to be aggressive just to get by. But, I really dislike who it makes me – a hardened personality that ignores nearly everyone who addresses me, often times pushing people out of my way who stand in front, and really just assuming the worst of anyone who talks to me. That really sucks.

So, now it’s time to take a step back, and give the people of this country a 2^nd chance (or perhaps give myself a 2^nd chance to be the friendly and trusting traveler I like to be). I’m really hoping that the people troubles we ran into are concentrated in Rajasthan, the country’s biggest tourist area. I’m hoping that now we’re up north, things will be a bit different, more relaxed, more inviting, more genuine. So far, that’s exactly what we’ve found.