Day 16 - Varanasi
No sleep on the train as predicted. Woke up early and spent some time chatting with a young man heading back to college after summer break. He was telling us to brace ourselves as Varanasi is a very densely populated, large city. It gets MORE crowded?!
Varanasi is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, dating back thousands of years. The city abuts the Ganges (Ganga in Hindi) which has made the city a religious and cultural capital of northern India. It is here that Hindus undertake the morning ritual bathing in the sacred river, worship the goddess Shiva, and are cremated.
We arrived in time to grab a snack and set off in cycle rickshaws to the banks of the river. Here we had some time to explore the ghats, sacred sets of steps down to the river. We all boarded a long rowboat to head up river and observe the Hindu cremation ceremony on the riverbank. Our guide explained a few key points: there is no crying at a Hindu cremation as they believe in reincarnation so death is not the end of life, a body burnt at this specific ghat for 24 hours becomes sacred and can enter paradise, and a traditional cremation can cost 10,000 rupee. The ashes from the cremation are placed in the Ganges.
After respectfully observing from a distance, our boat turned around and took us to observe the evening blessing of the goddess. On the way, we completed a candle flower ceremony, offering the goddess marigold and light and making a wish. When we arrived near the main ghat, we pulled up into a flotilla of tourist boats and watched the Aarti start. The Aarti is a ceremony to invoke the blessings of the goddess Ganga.
After dinner it was time to hit the hay in preparation of ANOTHER 5 a.m. wake up.
Varanasi is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, dating back thousands of years. The city abuts the Ganges (Ganga in Hindi) which has made the city a religious and cultural capital of northern India. It is here that Hindus undertake the morning ritual bathing in the sacred river, worship the goddess Shiva, and are cremated.
We arrived in time to grab a snack and set off in cycle rickshaws to the banks of the river. Here we had some time to explore the ghats, sacred sets of steps down to the river. We all boarded a long rowboat to head up river and observe the Hindu cremation ceremony on the riverbank. Our guide explained a few key points: there is no crying at a Hindu cremation as they believe in reincarnation so death is not the end of life, a body burnt at this specific ghat for 24 hours becomes sacred and can enter paradise, and a traditional cremation can cost 10,000 rupee. The ashes from the cremation are placed in the Ganges.
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| Subtly mocking the bromance. |
After respectfully observing from a distance, our boat turned around and took us to observe the evening blessing of the goddess. On the way, we completed a candle flower ceremony, offering the goddess marigold and light and making a wish. When we arrived near the main ghat, we pulled up into a flotilla of tourist boats and watched the Aarti start. The Aarti is a ceremony to invoke the blessings of the goddess Ganga.
After dinner it was time to hit the hay in preparation of ANOTHER 5 a.m. wake up.
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