my Varanasi expirience

Varanasi engrossed me completely. The crowds, the ghats, the markets and even the place where I stayed, the Banaras Hindu University founded by the late Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya kept me mesmerized right through my stay. The entire campus and the architecture of the place were absolutely brilliant. And the very fact that Varanasi, the oldest living city in the world is also the holiest of places for the practitioners of the Hindu religion added to the mystery that the city held for all of us before our arrival. The days spent at the city flew by faster than I could imagine and the time to return to the routine at Bangalore was upon me. Yet the memories shall remain, the memories of my first major outing without my parents shall always remain in my mind.

Our flight from Delhi landed at around one in the afternoon, and having left Bangalore fairly early in the day, we were all exhausted and tired. The very fact that we were in a group kept us on our feet and I really looked forward to good rest and sound sleep.

Having heard a lot about the city, from friends and family, I was excited to explore it on my own. But first stop was the Banaras Hindu University that was to be our base camp during the entire stay.  Reaching BHU, I was amazed at the extensive and well laid out campus and the comfortable stay arrangements made for us.

The first day was spent in the campus only. We relaxed and late in the evening visited the Vishwanath temple in the campus. I loved the temple architecture and enjoyed the bhajans being sung by the devotees. The wonderful evening made us all forget the hectic pace of the day and to look forward eagerly to the real beginning of the project tour.  We knew that the days to come would be hectic and we need to brace ourselves up.

The second day began with a visit to the ghats. Varanasi is the city of Ghats with as many as eighty seven of them being there, though only around five namely Dashashwamedh ghat, Tulsi ghat, Mani karnika ghat, Scindia ghat, Maan Mandir ghat and Lalitha ghat fall in the popular category. Of all the ghats, the dashashwamedh ghat that is close to the Kashi Vishwanath temple is the most famous and also the most popular. A group of priests daily perform in the evening at this ghat "Agni Pooja" (Worship to Fire) wherein a dedication is made to Lord Shiva, River Ganges, Surya (Sun), Agni (Fire), and the whole universe.

The environment at the ghats was different, much different to what one can imagine.  There was a strange calm even though the place was teeming with people. It was chaotic yet soothing. And religiosity was writ large on the faces of all those who visited the place. I spent time walking on the ghats along the holy river ganga, watching people engrossed in religious ceremonies and also whiling away their time. 

We came across a lot of pandits and ‘babas’.

One of the baba I will always remember named Black Boom Boom Baba.A very interesting man and a very interesting looking person I must say. Smoking marijuana near Chet Singh ghat I will never forget him.

I also went to the Manikarnika ghat and Harishchandra ghat, the ghats where cremations take place. According to ancient texts, the owner of Manikarnika Ghat bought King Harishchandra as a slave and made him work on the Manikarnika at Harishchandra Ghat. Hindu cremations customarily take place here, though a majority of dead bodies are taken for cremation to the Manikarnik Ghat. According to other sources that Manikarnik Ghat is named after Jhansi ki Rani Laxmibhai.

Visit to this ghat was my first close view of cremations, of death in large numbers. I felt weird and also thought about the futility of life as well as the need to live a good life to its fullest in view of the inevitability of death. Seeing the dead bodies, the smoke and the chaos left all of us speechless for a while. 

And then we were told that we have to get up at 6 in the morning the next day for a boatride in the Ganges River.

A boatride on the ganges was the highlight of the day. But before the boatride I read about the holy river and learnt many interesting things. We went from Assi ghat, which is the first ghat to Manikarnika ghat.

The environment was serene, calm and pure yet the most spectacular part of the boatride was the tremendous sunrise that all of us enjoyed and we will remember that for a long time.

I also enjoyed the discussions that we had while on the boat with even the local boatmen who told us a little bit about the ghats and about the whole area. It was enriching to discuss the holy river, the ghats and the lifestyles in the holiest city for the Hindus.

I also learnt that the city is a delight for the veg foodie. All varieties of ethnic indian cuisine, especially the north indian kind are available aplenty. The chaat is also very famous, so is the sweet lassi and the puri-sabzi. A must try in Varansai is the Kachori gali for all the chaat lovers to experience a variety of chaat there is to offer. Even the chaat we got in the campus was delicious.

The next day that is day 4, was dedicated to intermingling with the people who live close to the ghats and are dependent on the people who visit the ghats and river for their livelihood. I entered various shops and interacted with the shopkeepers, such interactions with strangers happening for the first time in my life. Rather hesitant at first, yet inspired by the simplicity of people around and the religiosity of the place I soon opened up and enjoyed these brief interactions.

One of the most memorable things about the city is the people whom I discovered were extremely warm, hospitable and always ready to interact with others, even strangers. My interactions with many individuals whom perhaps I met for the first and the last time on the ghats were intense experiences, some of which I consider worthy of sharing and am therefore recounting them below.  

The first day while doing my research I went to a bookstore called Kashi Annapoorna which is right next to Assi ghat. I wanted to buy a book on Varansi since I thought it would be very helpful to read about the place before setting out to do my research. I casually entered the bookstore and started struck up a conversation with the shopkeeper, Manish Dixit. He was extremely funny man and was willing to talk.

Interaction with Manish Dixit

This thirty five year old man, named Manish Dixit, has been running the book store since the last eight years. Having done his masters in Sanskrit, his knowledge about the Hindu traditions of worship and rituals is immense.

He mentioned that his uncle who runs a business dealing in books helped him in setting up a book store here in the ghats. He started with display and sale of books on a bare wooden table and subsequently shifted the business to the present shop after it started running well. He felt that being in a comfortable location and place that the shop was by, was far more important than shifting elsewhere and earning much more.  Yet he felt that the growth of his business has not been satisfactory as the number of tourists visiting the city has been stagnant.

He fondly remembered his childhood and his playing with his friends at the ghats. Having lived there since his childhood, he has seen the ghats gradually growing and developing. His faith in the holy river Ganges also grew with time and is as great as that of Dulaari Devi, his mother. 

After I was done with my interaction with this wonderful person, I went to a restaurant called Pizzeria, which is an Italian restaurant and is very famous for its apple pie. People who go to Varanasi should definitely have a meal at this restaurant and must try the apple pie! It was a hectic day and a lot of work had been done. But I knew a lot of work had to be done in the next 4-5 days. The next day was spent lazing around with a visit to the visual arts department oh the Banaras Hindu University that a lot of us found very interesting. The rest of the day was spent discussing how to go about our research in the next two-three days.

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India was visiting Varanasi on Friday, that is day 6. Most of the roads were therefore restricted or closed on security and crowd control considerations. Our course coordinators therefore decided that all of should stay put in the campus itself for the day. We therefore stayed in the campus till about afternoon after which we left once again for the ghats. I was a bit clearer about what I wanted to do now. I wanted to discover the role of women in Ganga. The best way to explore and find out about any new place is to interact with the local crowd. I therefore decided that extensive interaction with people who live on or near the ghats would be the best strategy. Besides the people who live there, visitors to the ghats would also be an effective means of gathering information that would be relevant to my topic of study and research. It is through all of them that I would get a human perspective about the history, culture and lifestyles of the place as well as the role that women played in all aspects of the holy ganges.

The people of Varanasi were simple folks, as most of those from small towns are. They were eager to and also comfortable in interacting with strangers. And therefore I did not face any problem in interacting with them. I made copious notes of all these interactions and also felt for the first time happiness in meeting people whom I had never met before.

While at the beginning I was not sure of how I would interact with strangers in an alien city, but my Varanasi experience has given me an innate desire to further explore new and unknown places. And when the trip ended, I had a peculiar feeling of staying back at Varanasi and not returning to Bangalore. Such is the impact of the holy city Varanasi on human beings.

Here are some more interactions I had with people on day 6.

Interaction with Sarita Devi

Just before entering Assi ghat I stumbled upon a flower and ‘mala’ shop. The lady shopkeeper was initially extremely busy but subsequently found time to talk to me. Her smiling face made the interaction comfortable and relaxing. While putting a mat on the floor for me to sit on, she told me that she also manages a business of operating boats on the ganges, a business she inherited from her parents.  She has two boys aged ten and seven who help her in running the shop and her whole family lives in a two roomed house behind the shop.

 Talking to me nostalgia overcame her and she told me about her childhood. She is one of seven siblings, four brothers and three sisters and in her childhood rode a rickshaw and even rowed a boat. Since her marriage at the age of fifteen, she is busy with her shop and kept away from operating rickshaws and boats. It really touched me when she told that she has never been out of the city, yet longs for exposure and knowledge that she knows is not possible. 

With her life dependent on the river she believes that she has got whatever she sought from the mother ganges. “The mother will care for you if you care for her” she says.

She has met people of different nationalities with widely different facets; some are good and friendly while some are unfriendly and angry. Her awareness of issues impinging upon ganges like clean ganga mission really surprised me and her reverence for the river was manifested in the manner in which she gave me holy waters “gangajal” to carry home for my parents.  Her hospitable nature touched me – she gave me tea and also invited me home for dinner. How much I shall miss this friendly soul Sarita Devi.

After I was done talking to Sarita Dixit, I went to the restaurant Pizzeria to meet up with my classmates. After I went there, I again visited the Kashi Annapoorna bookstore just to have a friendly interaction with Manish Dixit. When I went there I saw his mother sitting comfortably in the bookstore by the river. I then generally asked her if she could spare a few minutes to talk to me. She had absolutely no problem and she started talking to me about her life and her experiences. 

Interaction with Dulaari Dixit

Dulaari Devi moved from Kanpur to Varanasi almost forty years ago and has been living in her tiny tenement right on the ghats itself. The serene view of the ganges from all the rooms of her house enchants her every day. She lives simply without any trace of modernity in her house. Alcohol and non –vegetarian food are regarded as taboo and she is happy, very happy and very contented in her life. She like her belief in the people of Varanasi is a genuine human being.

Dulaari Devi is the owner of kalpana book store that her son manages. She spoke about her initial aversion for the city that slowly grew on her. She took time to understand the traditions of the city and its very different lifestyle. She found it difficult to get accustomed to the deep religiosity of the city and the highly intense culture of worship. She told me that in her earlier days, while she liked to visit the temples and look at the river, she remained detached and her attachment for these elements that the holy city is known for however surfaced with passage of time. From a girl who dreamt of bustling cities like Delhi and Indore where her sisters lived, she matured into a women, who loved her surroundings that included temples, the aura of religious practices and the holy river ganges.  With passage of time she started realizing how fortunate she was to be living in a place that people yearn to visit and die in.

And therefore by the time of our meeting, the city had already grown on her. She found the local people to be friendly, welcoming and hospitable. She mentioned with pride how people here, even those who belong to the lower strata of society offer tea even to strangers, something that is totally unheard of in cities like Delhi and Mumbai. And she feels that the religious environs of the place has changed her persona – she finds herself to be more kindly disposed towards other human beings and not retaliating with vengeance even towards someone who has been unkind or unjust.

She loves the universal importance of the holy river ganges and also believes in its sacred nature. Earlier she used to visit the river for a daily dip but was unhappy over the fact that problems with her knee now prevent her from following this routine. She spoke exultingly about the mud on the banks of the river, mud that in her view is superior to any soap or shampoo sold in the markets, about the festivals and food of the city and specially about celebrating “durga puja” that she believes is second only to the city of Kolkatta. .

She recounted an interesting story about a german couple who changed their names to Kedar and Parvati, Kedar is also a name of one of the ghats in the city, and have been living in Varanasi since the last 21 years. They come to the ghats everyday just to have a view of the holy river. She also told me how women, mostly housewives  visit the banks of the holy river ganges every morning to make little idols of lord Shiva, called “shivlings”, from mud and disperse it in the river after worshipping it.

At the end of our meeting she turned emotional and her true love for Kashi (another name for the city) surfaced. No one here sleeps hungry, be it the rich or the poor, everyone gets atleast one full meal in a day she said, adding that the goddess of food “Annapurna” goes round the city to ensure that no one sleeps hungry.  Her intense love for the city, its temples, traditions, ceremonies and the holy river made my eyes brim with tears and perhaps gave me a different take on life.

Back at the campus sat down with all my friends and exchanged notes. 

Day 7

Again went to the ghats where I met an interesting samosa seller by the name of Janki Sahani. The brisk sale of samosas ensured that Janki remains continuously busy, yet she found some time to interact with me.

Interaction with Janki Sahni

I met her near Jain ghat. She told me how she has been selling samosas for the past two years in the same spot. Even though she said its not productive, she makes enough money to feed her kids. Her husband has been injured for a really long time. He hurt his hand while boating. It’s really upsetting that she has all the burden on her shoulders and now has to provide for her family. She has two daughters one is 15 and the older one is 20. Their family is planning to get the older one married but unfortunately they don’t have enough savings to do that. Janki prays to the ganga every morning after waking up. Since she seemed busy serving yummy samosa with chhola I decided I should leave her alone. I took a plate of samosa with chhola and started to walk in other places.

After a while I went to a shop called aggarwal toy emporium and bought kurtis for myself and my elder sister. The shop had a rich collection of ethnic stuff and anyone who visits Varanasi should definitely visit the shop and pick up a thing or two.

Day 8

The day before we were to leave back for home, was spent in the soothing vicinities of Sarnath, the holiest of places where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. Sarnath is one of the four places most intimately linked to the life of Lord Buddha – Lumbini where he was born, Bodhgaya where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath where he delivered his first sermon and Kushinagar where he passed away.

Sarnath is a small township located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Gomati rivers inUttar Pradesh,India. The deer park in Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightment of Kondanna. Singhpur, a village approximately one km away from the site, was the birthplace of Shreyansanath, the eleventh Tirthankara of Jainism, and a temple dedicated to him, is an important pilgrimage site.

Isipatana is mentioned by the Buddha as one of the four places of pilgrimage which his devout followers should visit, if they wanted to visit a place for that reason. It was also the site of the Buddha's first teaching after attaining enlightenment, in which he taught the four noble truths and the teachings associated with it.

After returning from Sarnath I once again went to the ghats to interact with the people living there.

Interaction with Pranga Devi

I found this serene and peaceful middle aged Bengali lady sitting on the ghats and experiencing the bliss of the holy river, all by herself. On being approached, she gently smiled and asked me to sit beside her. Her demeanor encouraged me to ask questions and seek information about the way of life in the ghats and surrounding places. Pranga Devi who has been living close to the ghats for over forty years, has also been coming for a bath in the holy river for quite some time now with the mud along the ghats serving as soap and shampoo for her. She spoke to me about the tremendous faith the people of the city have in the holy ganges that they also refer to as mother and also about her belief that something unique about the river attracts people from all over the country to come and worship her. She also told me that many people in the city are in the habit of to the ganga to bathe by three in the afternoon every day and that a dip in the river has emerged as their daily routine. On being asked about her family life, she told me that she has one son named Prayas who works and lives at Bijapur. Prayas got married a few years ago and Pranga Devi was not very happy about the fact that while she is highly religious her son and daughter in law aren’t.

This was my last visit to the ghats during this visit and feelings therefore gripped me once again. I knew that I would miss the ghats, the holy river and the simple yet religious people who live close to the ghats. I will surely miss this holy city. It had been an absolutely brilliant experience and I will never forget it.

Trip to VARANASI

The first educational tour at Srishti school of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore was an occasion that all of us looked forward to. Five months in Bangalore and that too remaining almost confined to Yalehanka, the outskirts of Bangalore, had stirred in us a desire to visit a new destination, other than our hometowns of course. And therefore when we were asked to choose our choice of place for the educational tour, I was both excited and anxious. There were a lot of places that I hadn’t been to like – Malwa, Jodhpur, Kutch etc yet I chose Varanasi for a variety of reasons.

Varanasi I knew is the world’s oldest living city besides being the holiest place for those belonging to the Hindu religion. The rich cultural traditions of the city, inspired by Ganges, the holiest of river in the country and its extremely rich history had always inspired me and in the back of my mind I always had a desire to visit the city at the earliest opportunity. Besides Varanasi is a place that has a confluence of religions, Buddhism being one of them.  And therefore when the occasion arose, I put my finger bang on Varanasi even though other places appeared much more exotic to explore. Varanasi I knew would have the mysticism that other places would not. Yet I knew that my visit to Varanasi would not be as a tourist but as an intrepid traveler who is out to explore the place to its fullest. My teachers had mentioned that this educational tour is all about learning about the evolution of the city, understanding its pulse and also its finer points through extensive interaction with the local people and experiencing the local environment to the maximum extent possible. Basically it was a learning experience, but not through books but practical hands on approach.