Just a Taste of Varanasi

Touted by India as the oldest living city in the world, Varanasi - or Benares - is undoubtably a special place that attracts tourists and pilgrims from all walks of life.  Around 2.5 million people visit Varanasi each year and while it is by no means one of India's largest cities (with a mere 1.2 million population in the city proper, compared to Mumbai and Delhi whose populations hover closer to 20 million give or take a few), it continues to be a place of great importance and interest.  This is probably due, in part, to its spiritual significance. Varanasi boasts numerous mythological histories, for example one legend tells that Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati, walked to this spot at the beginning of time.  Some may call Varanasi the city of Shiva, which seems so as you walk along the Ganga past countless Shiva Linga stones.  Another Hindu legend holds that anyone who is cremated here will be released from samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth), attaining enlightenment.  This is one tradition of Varanasi known better in the U.S., though often with a negative undertone.  Before I moved here, upon telling people where I was going, I would often get the response of, "Isn't that where you can see parts of dead bodies floating down the river?" Note: I have never once seen a limb floating down the Ganga... so it's not like zombie-film status; though I've been told that some with limited funds will weight bodies to be partially burned and then sunk to the bottom of the river.

One of my favorite things about Varanasi, as compared to some other popular destinations in India and across the world, is the entanglement of tradition and tourism.  It seems accepted that many cities popular with tourists have "tourist areas," like San Francisco's Fisherman's Warf or Mumbai's Colaba and Bandra neighborhoods; while those parts of the city where true inhabitants go about their lives unbothered by hoards out-of-towners - DSLRs in hand - fly under the mainstream tourist radar.  Varanasi unapologetically and magically melds these two together on the ghats of the Ganga.  Here tourists from India and abroad walk up and down the steps, navigating between laundry, herds of buffalo, tethered goats and more.  Many homes in the gullies along the Ganga have belonged to families here for generations and so the everyday rituals like regular bathing, laundry and animal husbandry continue to take place amidst the tourism.  While in many other cities these people may have abandoned the tourist hotspot, Varanasi commands reverence for its character, history and seemingly authentic daily life. 

Here I am standing in Assi Ghat just a few steps away from the guest house I stayed at in 2013 when I first came to Varanasi with SIT: Jaipur study abroad group. If you ever travel to India, skip the big hotels and go for guesthouses. Usually run by families, if you do enough background research you can find some real gems. Our favorite here in Varanasi is Sahi River View Guest House with cheap, clean and comfy rooms it even comes with free breakfast! Not to mention a wonderfully hospitable familial staff. 

Water buffalo are a mainstay along the ghats, at one time a herd began to stampede down the main street in Assi Ghat, one of the most touristy areas, giving us all quite a scare.  Here they cool off and clean up in the Ganga.  Buffalo are kept throughout North India (having not been farther south I cannot speak to other regions) and I actually prefer their milk to cow's milk - it is sweeter, creamier and a bit more flavorful!

Along the ghats you can also see a handful of boats in various stages of construction, meaning more and more boats to have boat drivers relentlessly ask, "Boat madam? You want boat?" as I walk along the river. 

Broke down and started a blog

After approximately 6 weeks of badgering, my mother has convinced me to start a travel blog.  I left Denver on January 9, 2015 and arrived in Varanasi on the 11th.  So many adventures and challenges have already transpired, but with 3-5 months left in South Asia, the best is yet to come.  To start I will detail the tempestuous journey from Denver to KIRAN Village in Madhopur, Varanasi, UP:

A final view of the parents as I enter into DIA's security line... I was warmly greeted on the other end of the line by a questionable pair of underwear just chilling on the ground by the benches where you gather your things and presumably yourself... it would seem at least one person failed at this. My trip from there did not go as planned.  My flight from DC to Heathrow was delayed.  In regular airport style the United desk kept saying, "We hope the plane will board in 30 minutes but we have no more information." Upon landing at Heathrow I had missed my flight to Bangkok and had to be rerouted through Frankfurt, which gave me the upgrade of switching from United to Lufthansa all the way to Bangkok  *free wine*

 After arriving in Bangkok, I had just enough time to brush my teeth, get a bottle of water and find my gate.  I sat at the small gate, feeling the January humidity and warmth of the Bangkok airport, surrounded by a hoard of Thai tourists, which included a handful of Buddhist monks.  I boarded the small plane and promptly fell asleep to wake only once we had landed.  I deplaned with everyone else and walked to the airport where the security guard turned me away.... turns out my flight had made a pitstop in Bodhgaya, where the Thai tourists and Buddhist monks were presumably making a pilgrimage to see the Bodhi Tree where the Buddha attained enlightenment.  I re-boarded the plan with another 3 confused, but generally apathetic toward our situation, passengers.  As we waited for Indian tourists returning to Varanasi district to board, I was delighted with the spectacle of a nameless, but famous I imagine, individual boarding the plane next to me, entourage in tow complete with a personal photographer and videographer.  Finally, I made it to Varanasi.... only to stand at the baggage carousel to be disappointed, but not surprised, to have no luggage.

I spent two hours waiting and trying to work things out with the Thai Air representative... thinking I had filed a report. Days later, I came to find no claim or report had been filed and my paperwork sat in the Air India office of the Varanasi airport. 10 days later, after my mom and I spent hours trying to discover its location, my bag was found in a luggage pit at Heathrow (Thank you Brian from Thai Air at LAX!). Finally, my bag was returned to me... but not soon enough as by the third day in the village the only shirt I had was chewed up by the rats who descended upon my room from the roof every night. 

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Finally, for those of you who are more spatially oriented, here is a reference point for my location. I am living and working in the KIRAN Village.  Located in Madhopur, I am about 30min from Varanasi by rickshaw and about 5min by foot to the Ganga and the famous Shooltankeshwar temple and its ghat, making this village the best of both worlds.  Check out KIRAN's website, kiranvillage.org and like our page on Facebook, KIRAN Society for more info on where I am and what we do here!