28.10.2018
It was a short night! My alarm went off at 04:30 and I met our guide Mukund in the Lobby at 05:15. Nobody overslept or chickened out – Varanasi is one of the highlights of this journey. We left on our bus at 05:30. Sunrise was supposed to be around 06:15 and we wanted to be on a boat on the River Ganges by then.
The weather was not as hot and humid as we had experienced in West Bengal. But it was still hot and even this early in the morning it was comfortably warm. The heat here is however more dry and therefore easier on the guests.
Usually the trip to Dashashwamedh Ghat takes like 15 min max by bus. But today …. we were jinxed or something. There was some kind of local festival going on all night and the main road to the ghat was blocked. Traffic was a bitch and we basically got stuck no more than 2 km from the hotel …
The other tourist busses had the same problem and at some point our driver started backing out and turning around, then going another way. Traffic was a little better there, but the way was longer. We only reached the drop off point for the ghat at 06:30 …Never mind! Smile as if this is the normal thing – which it is, considering Indian traffic!
We still had to walk like 600 m through the awakening street. The shops were still closed, but snack stalls started opening up and flower sellers had set up already.
At the main entrance to the ghat a bunch of sadhus sat waiting for offerings – in our world you would say they begged. A sadhu is a religious ascetic, monk or any holy person in Hinduism and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. They are sometimes alternatively referred to as jogi, sannyasi or vairagi. The term sadhu literally means one who keenly follows a path of spiritual discipline. Although the vast majority of sādhus are yogīs – not all yogīs are sādhus. The sādhu is solely dedicated to achieving mokṣha – liberation – the 4th and final aśhrama – stage of life, through meditation and contemplation of Brahman. Sādhus often wear simple clothing, such as saffron-colored clothing in Hinduism, white or nothing in Jainism, symbolizing their renunciation of worldly possessions.
When we reached the top of Dashashwamedh Ghat the sun was already up, but still in the smoggy morning haze – it rises directly opposite – the river ghats were already busy. Dashashwamedh Ghat is the main ghat in Varanasi and is probably the most spectacular ghat. There are 2 Hindu legends connected with it – according to one, Lord Brahma created it to welcome Lord Shiva – according to another legend, Lord Brahma sacrificed ten horses here. The present ghat was built in the 18th century.
We hurried down the stair to find our boat. There were many boats of all sizes, but thanks to mobile phones our guide Mukund found our boat quickly. It was a small row boat – small group – small boat! And a row boat is anyway the preferred choice for a trip along the ghats to witness the morning rituals in this holiest city of India and the spectacle of old age rituals. We got on and 2 strong young men rowed us along the river first towards the south against the stream. The Ganges, which normally flows southeast, reverses its course and flows north for a while here at Varanasi. This is considered very auspicious and that is why the city has a special significance.
Much was happening already along the river banks. The sound of music, ringing bells and chanting filled the air as the city came alive in a mad frenzy of devotion. The 8 km stretch of the river in Varanasi has 84 Ghats – some dedicated to worship and bathing, others to cremation – and over 300 temples dedicated to various Hindu deities.
Varanasi is one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the world – some say it is the oldest – and it receives both devotees and tourists in astounding numbers day after day – it is the pilgrim-drawing spiritual capital of India. Varanasi is also known as Benares, Banaras or Kashi. Buddha is believed to have founded Buddhism in Sarnath near Varanasi around 528 BC when he gave his first sermon. The city’s religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century, when Adi Shankara established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. During the Muslim rule through Middle Ages, the city continued as an important centre of Hindu devotion, pilgrimage, mysticism and poetry which further contributed to its reputation as a centre of cultural importance and religious education. Guru Nanak visited Varanasi for Maha Shivaratri in 1507, a trip that played a large role in the founding of Sikhism.
The name Varanasi is linked to the names of two Ganges tributaries forming the city’s borders – Varuna, still flowing in northern Varanasi, and Assi, today a small stream in the southern part of the city. The old city is located on the north shores of the Ganges, bounded by Varuna and Assi. The city is also referred to as Kashi from the Sanskrit verb “to shine”, making Varanasi known as “City of Light”, the “luminous city as an eminent seat of learning”.
There are a lot of things that our western mind struggled to comprehend in Varanasi, but one thing was sure, the mighty River Ganges is impressive. It was deeply spiritual and with much intense devotion around us. Our rational minds pointed out that the river looked pretty murky – we had already heard about the contamination from human and toxic waste – yet many people bathed in it and even drank the water! Maybe they had enough faith and did something with a pure heart and could therefore transcend the filth?
Hindus consider the River Ganges – the Mother Ganga – as a goddess. It is worshipped as the holiest river in Hinduism and bathing in it is believed to rid one of all sins that one might have committed in life. In addition to taking a dip in the river, devotees also visit to pray with offerings of flowers and oil lamps.
Kids came jumping from boat to boat selling those little oil lamps for Rs 10 a piece. I bought 2 and only Mr. R took one as well, the others were not for it. Well, I would send mine floating a little later on.
Varanasi is a place that is hard to make sense of – for both Hindus and non-Hindus. I had guests complain about hygiene, space and noise. Quite frankly, If you are looking to kick back and drink Margaritas, Varanasi is not for you … Varanasi is a bustling city with more than 3.5 mio inhabitants. It is hard to even begin fathoming the system at work beneath all the apparent chaos, but the only way to even trying to understand the multilayered city is to experience it in person.
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” Karl Marx once said, However, religion should be seen as more than simply a provider of temporary comfort – these century old holy rituals and ceremonies are a preservation of traditions that perpetuate cultural values and ideologies - they’re celebrations of life. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the ghats of Varanasi.
The ghats are simple staircases reaching the water, you would think at first sight. But taking a closer look at the banks – during day or nighttime – will show that they are the principal stage of daily life in Varanasi. Here people live … they bath – wash – cook – play – sing – pray – buy – sell – fish – pee – sleep – die … These ghats at the bank of River Ganges depict a perfect picture of humanity. There is movement, motion, human life everywhere and it starts from the early morning and then stops only in the late night. Many visitors were roaming along with buffalo, cows, dogs … hawker selling drinks, chai, food, other things … people sleeping at the benches and stairs … tourists enjoying the boat-rides … many pilgrims taking a dip in the holy river … moored boats as well as boats moving along the river …
According to myth, the goddess Ganga fell to earth and liberated the souls of many caught in sin – it is believed that the Ganges is a crossing point between heaven and earth – and that washing in the holy water cleanses of sin. Pilgrims come from all across the country for a small dip in the river – some bring small containers to take Ganges water back home.
However, India is nothing if not ironic – the Ganges is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. More than half of Varanasi’s waste flows into the river, along with the bones and ashes of the dead and in some desperate cases, simply the dead. Harish Chandra Ghat is one of the oldest ghats of Varanasi and is named after the mythological King Harish Chandra, who once worked at the cremation ground here for the perseverance of truth and charity. Harish Chandra Ghat is one of the two cremation ghats in Varanasi. The Harish Chandra Ghat was somewhat modernized in late 1980’s, when an electric crematorium was opened here.
This was the southernmost point we reached and our boat turned around and we got rowed downstream again, which was a bit easier for our boat men. Just next to Harishchandra Ghat there is Lali Ghat or Dhobi Ghat, where a lot of men are usually washing clothes in the river. These men are dhobis – washers. Their main work is to collect the dirty clothes from various households and then wash and iron those clothes to deliver again to the owners. They beat the clothes against the stone wash slabs at the ghats and then rinse them in the river water. The clothes then get spread out on the stairs to dry in the sun.
Darbhanga Ghat boasts one of the oldest buildings on the Varanasi ghats – Brijrama Palace – which is now apparently one of the best luxury heritage hotels in the city. It is an 18th century Royal House of Nagpur built out of solid sandstone. In 1915 the Brahmin King of Darbhanga acquired the palace. The architecture and the design of the palace are directly influenced by the then ruling dynasty of the Marathas. A special sight of the hotel is its historical elevator – installed in 1918 – built to help the Darbanga king climb the 2nd floor of the palace – also stated as being the first elevator of India. The elevator is nowadays probably updated, still reaches down all the way to the ghat. In monsoon season when the river rises by several meters, the entrance gets walled up and sealed, however.
We then set our deepak oil lamps afloat. The deepak – floating flower and oil lamps – are used as an offering to the River Ganges at sunrise and sunset in respect to Mother Goddess Ganga, God Shiva and the rising sun.
The boat brought us all the way down to Manikarnika Ghat which is one of the holiest among the sacred Ganga Ghats here. It is believed that a dead human’s soul finds salvation, when cremated here. The unearthly Manikarnika Ghat seems to thrive solely on an unusual and macabre death tourism. Scores of the elderly across the whole country seek to walk up to its edges and spend their last days absorbing the charisma of the ghat – which makes even death painless and insignificant.
Not a single day passes without dead bodies being cremated here – 200 to 300 every day. At the Manikarnika Ghat death is being celebrated. Remorseful chants are sung every hour of the day and smoke engulfs the area day and night as dead bodies are cremated for moksha – eternal peace – complete liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The ghat is also known as the gateway to heaven by many worshipers.
This morning we just passed it and got off our boat near the Ratneshwar Mahadev Mandir – the Leaning temple of Varanasi – one of the most photographed temples in the holy city. The temple, while apparently well-preserved, leans significantly towards the northwest and its inner sanctum is generally below the water much of the year, except for a few months during the summer.
From there we walked through the narrow alleys of the old town – literally a labyrinth of small passages. Leaving the river we passed behind Manikarnika Ghat where the wood sellers had their places. Huge piles of firewood were stacked here – every log is carefully weighed on giant scales so that the price of cremation can be calculated. Each type of wood has its own price, sandalwood being the most expensive.
There is a high demand for wood, particularly hard wood, which strains the Himalayan forests – but that is a different story. It can require up to 500 kg of logs to burn a large body. That means 50 to 60 mio trees are consumed annually in India alone. Of course, electric or gas-fired crematorium have been built, but they seemed closed – most people still prefer traditional methods.
We followed our guide Mukund through tight roads and small paths, sometimes just broad enough to allow one person to pass. Often we had to make space for one of the many holy cows roaming in town. In Hinduism, cows are thought to be sacred or deeply respected. That has to do with its agricultural uses and gentle nature. Hindus rely heavily on cows for dairy products, for tilling fields and for dung as a source of fuel and fertilizer. Therefore, cows are seen as a caretaker or maternal figure. The Hindu Goddess Bhoomi is usually shown in the form of a cow, because she represents the Earth.
Life is frenetic here and animated by various fascinating activities. Shops, artisans, temples, sadhus, stray animals, dirt beyond imagination, hidden guest houses and praying gurus – all squeezed in this narrowness of the old town. So far on this journey we had been visiting small villages along the river and in the cities mainly walked the wider roads, we had looked at Varanasi life from the safe distance of the boat – now we dived in. The first confrontation for the guests was sure tough, uncomfortable – there is not much space or light, people are always in a hurry here. Our small group stretched over a long way – Mukund with our flag leading in the front trying to keep up with the Swiss express train who now claimed claustrophobia – me keeping up the rear end where Mr. Grumpy and Mr. N were fascinated taking breaks to take photos – in between the others who hopefully kept visual contact with the person ahead of them so we all would find our way out of the labyrinth.
We came along alleys where people were lining up with offerings in their hands – they waited to get into the Kashi Vishvanath Temple, one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas – Radiant Sign of The Almighty Shiva – the holiest of Shiva temples. The main deity is known by the name Vishvanatha – Ruler of The Universe. The temple has been destroyed and re-constructed a number of times in history and the current structure was built in 1780. Hindus from all over the world try to visit the place at least once in their lifetime.
During my former visits I have never actually seen the temple. It is located in a narrow alley and entrance is only allowed to Hindus. This time a few old houses in front of the temple had been removed – security measures are being upgraded in preparations for Kumbha Mela 2019 and that needs space. The good thing for us was, that we could actually see the golden spires of the temple. Photos are strictly forbidden around the temple area, though. The alleys were clogged with people lining up for the temple and it was hard to make our way through – seemingly against the stream. We could not figure out why they were all lining up today, though. I had never seen so long lines here before.
Once we kind of popped out onto a bigger road it was not far to walk to reach where our bus was waiting for us. On the way back to the hotel we took a short detour to the Bharat Mata Mandir – Mother India Temple – which is located on the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith public university campus. There are no traditional statues of gods and goddesses in this temple, but rather a huge relief map of undivided India carved out of marble.
This temple is dedicated to Bharat Mata – the national personification of India as a mother goddess, a mix of all the goddesses of Indian culture and more significantly of goddess Durga – depicted as a woman clad in a saffron sari holding the Indian national flag and sometimes accompanied by a lion.
After a short stop there it was not to far back to the hotel and the traffic had calmed, the festival was finished and the road was open again. We were back in the hotel by 09:00, had a well deserved breakfast and a short break. At 10:30 we already went off to our next tour – to visit Sarnath located approx 10 km northeast of Varanasi.
The former deer park in Sarnath is where Buddha taught his first Dharma – the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta which was his first teaching after attaining enlightenment – in which he taught the four noble truths and the teachings associated with it. Gautama Buddha is said to have identified 4 sites most worthy of pilgrimage for his followers, saying that they would produce a feeling of spiritual urgency – Sarnath – referred to as Isipatana – after Bodh Gaya – the most important religious site where Buddha attained enlightenment and Buddhahood under the Bodhi Tree, Lumbini – birthplace of Gautama Buddha in Nepal – and Kushinagar – where Gautama Buddha died and attained Parinirvana.
Our first stop was at the Mulagandhakuti Vihar, the main Buddhist temple in Sarnath which is said to be located at the very place where Buddha used to stay during his visits to Sarnath. The modern Buddhist temple was built in the 1930s by the Sri Lankan Mahabodhi Society, is 35 m high and has an image of Buddha inside it.
Once again it was shoes-off before entering the temple. The inside walls are covered in fine paintings all by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu depicting the life of Buddha. Photos were allowed, but a rather grim-looking monk made sure that we put a donation in the box.
Next to the building are the ruins which mark the place where the Buddha spent his first rainy season – a Buddha walk with prayer wheels and a sculpture group showing Buddha holding his first sermon under a bodhi tree.
It was only a few minutes walk to the main archeological site. 7 weeks after his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, Buddha left and travelled to Isipatana to rejoin his friends, the Pañcavaggiya monks, because he had seen with his spiritual powers that his 5 former companions would be able to understand Dharma quickly. He enlightened them with the teachings of the Dharma. At that time, the Sangha, the community of the enlightened ones, was founded. This first sermon was given in July on the full-moon day of Asalha Puja – the full moon of the 8th lunar month – the full moon of Cancer. Buddha subsequently spent his first rainy season at the Mulagandhakuti. The Sangha had grown to 60 in number and Buddha sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma.
Most of the ancient buildings and structures at Sarnath were damaged or destroyed by the Turkic. However, the remains are now an archeological site. Mukund got our site tickets and we wandered around. The Dhamek Stupa, the most impressive structure there, is nowadays 43 m high and 28 m in diameter.
Stupas originated as pre-Buddhist tumuli – mounds of earth and stones raised over a grave – in which ascetics were buried in a seated position. After the parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under 10 mounds. Little is known about these early stupas, particularly since it has not been possible to identify the original 10 monuments. However, some later stupas, such as this one at Sarnath, seem to be embellishments of earlier mounds. The Dhamek Stupa was built in 500 CE to replace an earlier structure commissioned by the great Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in 249 BCE along with several other monuments to commemorate Buddha’s activities in Sarnath.
The Dhamek Stupa is said to mark the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon.The stupa was enlarged on several occasions but the upper part is still unfinished. In its current shape, the stupa is a solid cylinder of bricks and stone. The basement seems to have survived from Ashoka’s structure – the stone facing is chiseled and displays delicate floral carvings of Gupta origin. The wall is covered with exquisitely carved figures of humans and birds, as well as inscriptions in the Brāhmī script.
Buddhism in Sarnath flourished which was mainly attributed to the support of kings and wealthy merchants inhabiting the region. By the 3rd century BC, Sarnath became a major center for arts. The town reached its prime during the Gupta reign in the 4th-6th century AD. According to the History of Sarnath there were 30 monasteries and 3000 monks living here in the 7th century.
The end of the 12th century saw Sarnath being ransacked by Turkic Muslims. The site was extensively plundered for building materials and has been lying in ruins since then. Thereafter, Sarnath remained completely deserted until 1836, when the British began excavations and restoration of this historic city.
Amongst the ruined monasteries and stupas is also an Ashoka Pillar which was broken during Turkic invasions, but the base still stands at the original location. The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from 268 to 232 BC. Ashoka used the expression Dhaṃma thaṃbhā – pillars of the Dharma – to describe his pillars. The Pillars of Ashoka are among the earliest known stone sculptural remains from India.
The Ashoka Pillar – the Asoka Column – was originally surmounted by the Lion Capital of Ashoka – a sculpture of four Asiatic lions standing back to back on an elaborate base that includes other animals. A graphic representation of it was adopted as the official Emblem of India in 1950. We visited the sculpture later in the Sarnath Archaeological Museum which houses the findings and excavations at the archaeological site of Sarnath.
The Lion Capital of Ashoka is the single most famous exhibit of this museum and stands 2.15 m high including the base. The capital is carved out of a single block of polished sandstone. The lions are mounted on an abacus with a frieze carrying sculptures in high relief of an elephant, a galloping horse, a bull, and a lion, separated by intervening chariot-wheels. The whole sits upon a bell-shaped lotus.
The museum contains 5 galleries and 2 verandahs to display the antiquities ranging from the 3rd century BC to 12th century AD that have been found here at Sarnath. Finest specimens of Buddhist art, Buddhist artefacts and other important remains have been housed at the museum.
On the street near the archaeological sites and the museum there were many souvenir stalls and some of the guests wanted to do some shopping. We had 15 min to look around before we walked a few meters to the Sarnath Thai Buddha Vihar which is a main attractions, because it has a 27 m high statue of Buddha made from sandstone – India’s tallest standing statue of Lord Buddha. The statue was unveiled in 2011.
It was very hot today again and near the bus park I had to have a couple of cups sugar cane juice for Rs 20 each. “Juice” is actually misleading as this is not a fruit or vegetable juice. The liquid is extracted from pressed sugarcane. Here they used an ancient pressing machine.
On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a silk weaving factory. Such “factories” in the city are set up for tourists – most of the silk weavers live and work in the surrounding villages, though. Varanasi is known throughout India for its production of very fine silk and Banarasi saris. For nearly 800 years it has been acclaimed as one of the world’s premier destinations for handwoven silks. In the lower floor of the building they had set up some traditional hand looms. A type of loom called Drawloom or Jalla was used to weave the brocade fabric.
With the advancement of technology, however, these are now woven on Jacquard looms which allow for pre-planing of the entire design and then going about the entire process rather mechanically. The Jacquard loom is controlled by a chain of cards – a number of punched cards laced together into a continuous sequence – one complete card corresponding to one row of the design. We could watch some weavers making brocade silk, which is woven back side up.
Brocade textiles are a specialty of the city and the earliest mention of these regal fabrics can be found in the 19th century literature. Silk weavers from Gujarat migrated here in 17th century. A new environment for weavers gave a way to various innovations and by 19th century, the city had flourished as the textile capital of the region.
Weaving in India dates to 500 B.C. and throve during the Mughal period from the early 16th to mid-18th centuries. Since Islam traditionally forbids the images of people and animals, weavers created floral brocades for sarees and scarves. Weaving is typically done within the household and most weavers in and around Varanasi are Muslims. For generations they have passed on their craft from father to son – hand-weaving silk on foot-powered looms. They are fashioned into Sarees worn only for special occasions – apparently many Indian girls dream of wearing Varanasi Silk Saree for their wedding day.
After we had watched the weavers making their slow progress in weaving the beautiful fabric we went up to the first floor in the sales room where we got shown magnificent pieces of handwoven silk. Such visits in sales emporiums are common procedure on these tours. I was sure nobody would buy anything on this tour, they would all just shout sales rip off and did not want to go there. But Mukund ask and explained that there will be not only the factory presentation, but also a sales event – with no obligation to buy, of course – and nevertheless, they all agreed to stop and have a look.
We got shown plenty different pieces of handwoven pieces in all sizes – place mats, table cloths and runners in different length, bed spreads, small decorative pieces, scarves, shawls …. And the guest bought and bought and bought! I was surprised!
Eventually we had to pull them out and go back to the hotel for a short break. Traffic was heavy again and we got back only around 15:00, meaning we had only 1.5 hrs break before the next excursion.
Actually I wanted to skip lunch and hang in my room since lunch was optional, but then I ended up going with Mrs. L to Pizza Hut around the corner. She really needed to go for lunch, but did not want to go alone and nobody else wanted to join her. So before she keeled over later because her sugar was down, I went with her and had a pizza.
Our evening excursion was optional as well and we had offered it to the guest a couple of days before. Most of them did not need time to decide, because they had maybe done a little reading up on their travel destination. Only our Swiss friend had to think about it and made a drawing – as we say in German – before, this morning she agreed to come as well. We took 3 E-Rickshaws from the hotel to as close to Dashashwamedh Ghat as possible. Traffic in the city is heavy in the evening, because everybody wants to go to the river ghats. Compared to the same walk this morning the street was crowded this evening.
Dashashwamedh Ghat was already very busy and keeping the small group together was some work as usual.
We wound our way down to the water and boarded a small row boat again – smaller than this morning, only one young boat man, but the same one as this morning. Before watching the Ganga Aarti ceremony which would start around 18:30 we were going to take a boat ride to Manikarnika Ghat – the cremation ghat.
It is the ghat that arouses the most curiosity – especially amongst Westerners. Walking around on the ghat is not a good option as a tourist and certainly not with a group – it would just not be appropriate. But taking a boat close to the ghat is no problem, taking photos is not totally forbidden from the boat, but out of respect only done from afar, not when actually close by. Many cremation take place here every day and in the evening is the most busy time. The Dom community, a low-caste community of corpse burners, carries out the cremation day after day. Their work never stops, not even for a second – even during times of festivities the cremation continue.
Dying in Varanasi and what it means to Hindus is a concept that confuses most of Westerners. Life and Death live together in Varanasi. A Western mind is used to thinking of death as finality. However, in Hinduism, life is believed to be a circle of birth and death. A soul keeps on taking births so as to bear the fruits and punishments of actions of past life. It goes on until the soul’s ledger of both is balanced, which might take all eternity. This is the city of Shiva and one of the ways to be free of that – bypass the cycle of rebirth and going direct to heaven – is to die in Varanasi, burn on the funeral pyres by the Ganges and have the ashes immersed in the Ganges after the cremation. This is why dying in the city is an important affair and the cremation seem endless.
The main burning ghat, is the most auspicious place for a Hindu to be cremated. Dead bodies are handled by the Doms and are carried through the alleyways of the Old City to the holy Ganges on a bamboo stretcher, swathed in saffron-colored cloth. The corpse is then doused in the Ganges prior to cremation. After cremation one bone is thrown into the water by the head of the family and the fire is doused with water from the Ganges. There were many fires burning as every night.
After watching for a while and many explanations by Mukund, the boat turned around and we got rowed back to the main ghat. Before we had started we had bought some of the flower and oil lamps again and now was a good time to light them and set them afloat. The sun had set long ago and there were many lamps floating on the River Ganges. Almost everybody from the group had bought one or 2 this time. The boat men all drove carefully – trying not to disturb the hundreds of floating lamps.
We got back to Dashashwamedh Ghat in good time before the Ganga Aarti ceremony would start. As usually, hundreds of people were already there – early arrival saves the best place. A very good place to watch is from a boat. There were hundreds of boats of all sizes there already. Not sure, if there is a certain hierarchy or system after which the boatmen place their boats, but after many bumps and getting much stinking fumes in our faces from big motorized boats, we finally settled in a good sport with a great view of the ceremony.
The Ganga Aarti ceremony takes place every evening on 7 wooden platforms placed on the edge of the steps of the ghat. On each wooden platform there is a small tables covered with saffron-colored silk clothes with prayer utensils – a conch shell, incense sticks, praying bells, handkerchiefs, large brass lamps with snake hood, flowers, water pot, yak-tail fan, peacock’s feather etc. Each of these item is considered very sacred in Hindu Mythology.
By the beginning of the ceremony a huge crowd had gathered – the ceremony is not just a tourist show – different people from diverse backgrounds come here – Hindus from all corners of India or the world, many tourists … different states, different countries, different religions, different castes, different colors … It is a confluence of faith, cultures and traditions with attention-cum-curiosity … spectacular and mesmerizing.
The priests perform the whole Aarti ritual in a well choreographed manner with almost perfect synchronization. They all wear identical clothes – mainly dhotis and kurtas of cream colour. The Aarti starts with the chanting of hymns and prayers in the praise of the Holy River. After that, they blow a conch shell and next burn incense with their right hand, while ringing the prayer bell with the left hand.
Next are big multi-tiered lamps containing many small lamps – the priests wave these burning lamps in clockwise directions while facing in all directions. These big brass lamps must weigh a lot! But they look amazing under the night sky.
They are followed by the waving of large brass lamps with snake hood burning camphor or kapoor. Kapoor can be found in every Hindu household – it is used for puja and aarti or for warming the house and is considered to be a holy substance, the flames of which drive away negative energies and evil forces. The burning of kapoor generates big flames out from the lamps and when the priests wave and circle them mesmerizing everyone who is watching.
After that the priests wave the Peacock feather and Yak-tail fan in similar choreographed manner and the ceremony approaches the end. This is always the sign for the group to get going. We kind of have to get out before all the hundreds or thousands people start going home. Our boat brought us the few meters to the ghat and we walked a side alley through the crowd back to our meeting point.
We passed many flower sellers, souvenir stalls, saree shops and fruit wallas. One of them sold a funny looking fruit we had seen all day already on the markets, but I had never encountered it before. I kind of nicked one of the tiny fruits from a fruit cart – the seller just waved me off shaking his head. Mukund said is was a waternut – Indian water chestnut. It is an aquatic plant and the edible part is actually a large seed which is surrounded by an odd-looking fruit.
Mukund helped me peel the funny fruit and I tried it. Did not really taste of anything, to be honest. Waternuts can be eaten raw, though they are usually boiled. When they are dried, they can be milled into a flour called singhara atta or chestnut flour which is used to make Indian roti or flatbread. This flour is used to prepare foods for religious festivals. It is an allowed food during fasting days because it is not made of grain. The flour is also added to milk to make milk creamier and it can be used to make batter for deep-frying.
Our E-Rickshaws picked us up at the meeting point and we rode back to the Hotel where we arrived around 20:00. Here we said good-bye to our guide Mukund – who by the way is so good that he was allowed to guide the German Bundespräsident during his visit of Varanasi earlier this year.
It was time for dinner and everybody had much to contemplate and discuss about our eventful visit of Varanasi. What a day we had again!
