Varanasi on the River Ganges, one of India's most famous cities

Written: Oct 07, 2002
Location: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Northern India.

My next destination was Varanasi on the Ganges River.

It was a long journey to Varanasi from Mandu. It entailed eight hours on a bus to the nearest train station and then a 22-hour train journey.

We passed the city of Allahabad on the train. This city is at the confluence of two of India’s most sacred rivers: the Ganges and the Yamuna. The meeting point of the two rivers is called the sangam and all pious Hindus hope to bathe here at least once in their lifetime. Once every 12 years the sangam is the site for the world’s largest gathering of pilgrims, the Kumbh Mela.

The train crossed a bridge over the river and through the open doorway of the train I could see the river far below and the many pontoon bridges that the pilgrims file across at the Kumbh Mela.

The train was late getting into Varanasi. It stopped several times in the darkness and I was slightly concerned, as I had read that the train to Varanasi is a prime target for robbers. As if to confirm this armed soldiers patrolled the carriage, which was reassuring.

Prayag Ghat

A rickshaw driver met me off the train and after viewing several hotels I took a room at the hotel Sun Shine. It was 9pm, I had been traveling for thirty hours and I couldn’t have walked much further. It turned out to be a good choice and seemed very luxurious compared to the accommodation in Madhya Pradesh.

I was rather groggy the next morning as a man from the hotel gave me a tour of the local ghats. Most are for bathing but there are also several ‘burning ghats’ where bodies are cremated. There are many temples along the river affiliated with particular ghats and there are over a hundred ghats in Varanasi.

The closest ghat to my hotel was the Shivala ghat, which was quite quiet and was a departure point for boat rides on the river.

Further along the river we visited a burning ghat. A couple of bodies were on fire covered by long heavy logs. Another pyre was being prepared. The male relatives sat to one side watching the fire. Women are banned from the ghat for fear they will jump on the pyre themselves.

Street scene

The guide told me that Sadhus, pregnant women, children and people with leprosy are not burned but are weighted down and dropped in the river. Anyone burned on the Ganges at Varanasi is considered by Hindus to escape the cyclic existence of birth and re-birth and go directly to heaven.

Before burning the bodies are anointed with butter, wrapped in cloth and dipped five times in the river. It costs 3000-4000Rs (40-50 pounds) to have a wood cremation but for those of lesser means there is also an electric incinerator which only costs 400-600Rs.

Varanasi is famous for its silk and the guide took me to see a factory where the silk is woven into saris and brocades. The looms looked very complicated. I was told it took up to a month to make complex silk brocade as it’s all done by hand.

I wandered around the locality of my hotel and found the place surprisingly hassle free. I had the occasional offer of a rickshaw but that was about it. In the evening I wanted to check my email but the electricity was down. This is a common problem in India especially in the summer when everyone is using fans. When there is not enough power to go around the government simply cuts off the lot.

Hindu priests, Dasaswamedh ghat

The following evening I visited Dasaswamedh ghat, the main ghat in Varanasi. It was very crowded; the streets were full of light and life. At the ghat I watched Hindu sadhus performing a religious ceremony. There were many butter lamps and with the dark and the river it was very atmospheric. I pushed a paper boat containing a lighted candle and flower petals onto the river as a blessing, but there was no wind or current and it remained only a few feet away from the bank.

Boats on the Ganges

I awoke at 5am the next morning for a boat ride on the river and followed the boatman through the narrow alleyways down to the river.

The sky on the opposite bank of the river was turning pink as I stepped into the small rowboat. The river stretched wide across the horizon, there was no wind and the river was like a mirror. It was a beautiful sight. On the opposite bank the trees looked very small because of the distance.

Sunrise on the Ganges

As the boatman rowed slowly, very slowly along he pointed out the names of the ghats, which were clearly visible in English on the temple walls. I was more interested in photography and fired off quite a few shots, several of the sun rising over the river, which bathed it in an orange glow. Many people were bathing on the ghats; they were more or less oblivious to the many boats passing closely by filled with tourists taking photographs.

I had breakfast in a hotel overlooking the road to the main ghat. I mention this as I had cornflakes here for the first time in India. On the road below pilgrims walked down to the river. Many had their heads shaved leaving a little tuft of hair at the back. I don’t know why, I guess it must be a sign that the person is a Hindu pilgrim and has renounced worldly things, at least for a time anyway.

Stupa, Sarnath

I visited Sarnath the site of the Buddha’s first sermon to his disciples after attaining enlightenment. It is a small village 10km from Varanasi.

The monuments at Sarnath are similar to those at Sanchi. There is a large stupa, which is a dome-shaped monument, used to house Buddhist relics or to commemorate significant facts of Buddhism. Emperor Ashoka built a pillar at Sarnath similar to the one at Sanchi. These pillars were built in the 2^nd century BC out of sandstone and the tops of each were crowned with the famous lion capital now a proud symbol of India displayed on Indian banknotes.  Sarnath was an important Buddhist monastic centre in these times and the remains of several monasteries are visible.

The monuments are contained in a large garden which is impeccably kept. There is also a park that contains a large herd of deer symbolising the deer park where the Buddha gave his first sermon to the five ascetics.

It was very hot in the gardens and I wrote a little and did a sketch of the stupa. Afterwards I visited the archaeological museum where there was an even better preserved lion capital than at Sanchi. Parts of it were in perfect condition and I was amazed it had survived so well for over two millennia.