India.Varanasi

  We arrived in Varanasi in the afternoon. We took a rickshaw to the area near the ghats and, after navigating the narrow and winding streets, found ourselves at the Alka Hotel, located on the banks of the Ganges. Unfortunately, they had no available rooms, so we had to look for another option. Sitting on the terrace of this hotel, we ordered masala tea and discussed our next steps. Diana stayed on the terrace with the backpacks to rest, while I went to find a guesthouse. Forty minutes later, I returned with good news, though the search didn’t take long; finding my way back was the challenge. The guesthouse I found, "Sankata," was located in a fascinating place near the most intriguing ghat in Varanasi - Manikarnika Ghat, where traditional cremations are conducted.

    Our week-long stay in Varanasi was filled with many moments, which I decided to divide into parts...

   Part One: The Beauty and Uniqueness of Varanasi from the Sacred Ganges...

  

  From the Ganges, the power of the ghats and the structures towering above them is felt most vividly. We took several boat rides on the river, observing people using its sacred waters for bathing, washing, and various purification rituals.

   The Ganges absorbs all this impurity and neutralizes it. Indians deeply believe in the river's power and, despite its less-than-clean appearance, are not shy about not only bathing but also drinking or rinsing their mouths with its water.

 The most popular time for a boat ride is early morning, just as the sun begins to rise and the lanterns’ reflections create beautiful patterns on the water. At this time, the river takes on a truly mystical appearance, and the morning bathing rituals take place...

  

   One day, we took a boat to cross the Ganges and reach the deserted side of the river, where, according to Hindu beliefs, the souls of the departed are taken...

  Sitting on the sandy shore, we peacefully watched the sunset... 

 Part Two: The Vibrant Ritual of Puja...

  The most striking ritual in Varanasi is undoubtedly Puja, which in Sanskrit means worship or prayer. The ritual involves offerings to a sculptural image of a deity - food, water, incense, flowers, and other elements. This ritual is most spectacularly performed in a group every evening after sunset at the central ghats. The atmosphere is simply fantastic. This half-hour spectacle begins and ends to the sounds of live devotional songs...

  Floating candles decorated with flowers, which could be purchased to offer to the gods on the water...

   The ritual itself was simply mesmerizing...

 Watching the Indians who came for prayer every evening was fascinating. During Puja, the central ghats were crowded with people...

  At this time, the ghats were also a place to see very colorful personalities - sadhus, ascetics, or yogis in Hinduism. Some adopted this guise to earn money from photographs, but mostly, we encountered genuine representatives... 

 

  During Puja, we were marked with tilaks on our foreheads - a sacred symbol of submission to the gods...

   Part Three: Strolling Along the Ghats... Every day, we discovered something new and interesting as we walked along the sacred places and sat on the steps, observing the slow life of the old city. One day, we took a rickshaw to one of the farthest ghats and then slowly walked back to our Manikarnika Ghat. During the rickshaw ride, we encountered heavy traffic.

  We saw how the numerous boats that filled the Ganges were made and how this type of transport was used...

     

  The ghats attracted us with their coziness and colors...

   After the rainy season, when the Ganges' water level rises, the ghats are cleaned...     

  The buildings along the ghats never ceased to amaze us with their uniqueness...

  There were many sacred places on the ghats where people could perform rituals themselves. Once, we even witnessed such an event...

   There were also places where we could see sadhus reading Sanskrit texts...

   The most genuine of all the sadhus seemed to be the one in the next photo. During our entire stay, he never left his spot, almost always seen sitting in a lotus position and reading a book. Someone was always attending to him, heating water on coals or rolling a joint...  

  It was interesting to watch children playing cricket on the ghats, India's most popular sport...

  We also met lovely children from a small Indian family...

  and saw very interesting lanterns...

 The impressions from walks and rest on the ghats were always very calming. Returning to our guesthouse, we always passed the cremation site, stopping several times to observe this unusual tradition. The smell of burning bodies was noticeable only after long observation of the process. In the evening, from a distance, the ghat looked intimidating, but in reality, everything was very peaceful. Even the Indians offering hashish at every step didn’t bring any alarm...

  Part Four: The Old City Streets... The streets of the old part of the city sheltered us from the scorching sun at noon...

   

  The shop windows displayed mannequins dressed in traditional Indian women's clothing - saris...

    We were also surprised by the temples hidden between houses and located in very narrow streets...

A special part of our program was visiting the Golden Temple, or Kashi Vishwanath Temple. For foreigners, entering this temple is quite a quest. After waiting in line, we encountered a metal detector and a police search. We could only bring money and documents; we left all other items in our room and handed an empty bag to the storage near the temple. Then, passing through barriers, we approached a table where Indians inquired about our stay, future directions, and recorded our passport details. This seemed excessive, but when entering the main courtyard directly to the temple, a guard initially refused us entry, indicating it was off-limits. We again approached the table of Indians, who signaled the guard to let us in. The more difficult it was to get in, the more interesting the place became...

  Entering the small courtyard, we were swept into a stream of Indians heading to sacred sites, bowing to sculptural images of the gods and reciting prayers. The atmosphere was authentic. Surrounded by so many believers, a powerful energy emanated, creating an impression of chaos. This non-touristic place in Varanasi was fascinating, showing how far one can be from home not only physically but also mentally.

   Wandering the streets, we found a very tasty place to try lassi - a popular Indian yogurt-based drink. The place was always crowded with Japanese tourists, who recommended we try it. We chose banana lassi, which was prepared before our eyes...

  The friendly vendor mixed two bananas with ice, yogurt, salt, sugar, and spices in an iron mortar, poured it into disposable clay cups, and topped it with almond nuts. The cups were then broken and thrown away. It was the most delicious and cheapest yogurt we had ever had...   

 We also visited an ashram near our guesthouse. An ashram is a place aimed at the spiritual development of its members through studying sacred texts, yoga, meditation, and chanting mantras...

  We were warmly welcomed by the leader of this spiritual establishment, who showed us all the usually closed sacred places, gave us a book on yoga practices, and invited us to dine with his students. We photographed the ashram and sent these photos to him via email after returning home.

   Every day, we spent several hours at the ghats, wandered through the narrow and winding streets of the old city, and were inspired by Puja in the evenings. After such a busy day, we always enjoyed a delicious dinner at the rooftop restaurant of our guesthouse. There, I savored the most delicious thali of the entire trip...

  From the rooftop of our restaurant, we could see how some locals took their meals...

   Our amazing acquaintance with the fantastic city came to an end...

   Mark Twain once said: "Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together." This is indeed true. The old part of the city and the ghats along the Ganges seem to be beyond time. We are leaving our beloved place and heading towards new experiences. Varanasi gave us the much-desired tranquility we came here for. We hope to maintain this mindset for a long time.  Read more...