I see dead people

We got to Varanasi aroudn 7:30 this morning. Walking out of the train station, we were surrounded, hassled and nearly assaulted by rickshaw drivers. We pushed our way through them, found a guy willing to take us to where we wanted to go for only double the price it should have been (rather than 5 times as much like most drivers) and made our way to the Old City area. Varanasi, or the city of Shiva, is southeast of Delhi, and is perhaps the holiest city in all of India. It is on the banks of the Ganges River, and Hindus come from all over to bathe in its holy waters.

We were dropped off near the Old City and had to walk the rest of the way to the hotels along the river, as the alleys are so narrow that no vehicle can get through, including motorbikes. The hotel we chose to go to was pretty clean, but out of our price range. We proceeded to walk around for nearly an hour in the 42C (107F) heat with our packs on, but every other hotel was pretty gross. We were constantly followed by touts trying to lure us to their hotel of choice, where they'd get a hefty commission, and we would pay twice the price for a room. They are incredibly persistent and constantly in our faces. When we weren't dodging them, we were trying to get away from guys offering us boat rides on the river. **Warning: disgusting material ahead. All the while we were trying not to step in human, goat, cow, buffalo or dog shit and/or urine (or said beings in the act of creating this), piles of rotting trash, and Kel was desperately trying not to barf. It was a challenging morning, made worse by the heat. To top it all off, we walked by one of the concrete umbrellas that line the river (for people to sit under and pray, or prey on tourists) and there was a dead guy. It appeared as if he had been sitting when he died, and his body had slowly slumped over, mercifully hiding his face. Because of the holiness of the city, people come here to die. If they can afford it, they then get cremated, their ashes thrown into the Ganges. It was pretty disturbing, especially considering he must have had no family or friends to take care of him in the end. Nige asked a local kid what would happen, and he said "Oh, someone will call the police, and eventually they will come around and take away the body." It didn't sound as if dead bodies near or in the river is a rare occurance.

We decided to go back to the first hotel we looked at, despite the cost. By this time, we didn't really care. We had some breakfast in their outdoor restaurant, on a terrace overlooking the Ganges, while we waited for someone to check out of a room. They only had really cheap rooms (ie a small box with a bed in it) or a really lush room, so of course we opted for the latter. A huge room, non-smelling bathroom, 2 ceiling fans and an evaporative air-cooler. Of course given the standards of India, this is luxury. And we certainly paid for it too.

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and napping, as it was so hot outside, and not much was happening. Around 5:00 we went out to have a look around. We walked along the many ghats on the river. These are huge platforms on the bank of the river, with stairs leading down into the water. People come to their ghat (or any ghat) to bathe in the river, do laundry, or pray. From the Meer Ghat (not meerkat) near our hotel, we headed south along the river. We passed the Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi's main ghat, apparently where Brahma sacrificed 10 horses. It seems to be busy at all times of the day with people bathing, selling various foods and trinkets, praying, or just hanging out. We walked upstream a bit, then headed back downstream towards the Jalsain and Manikarnika Ghats. **Warning: disgusting material ahead (again). We passed the dead guy again and unfortunately experienced the results of what a day of 42C heat can do to a dead body. The skin on his back had blistered and attracted many flies. His body had lurched forward as a result of the bloating. Some bodily fluids had also been released, and were draining over the side of the platform. And of course, the stench (Kel's head was tucked inside her shirt before they even came within 30 feet of him). It was too much for some people, as there was evidence of people's lunches dotting the sidewalk.`

The Jalsain and Manikarnika Ghats is where most of the cremations take place. We stood and watched as a few ceremonies took place. When someone is to be cremated here, the covered body is taken down the ghat steps to the Ganges on a bamboo stretcher, held by male family members. They wash the body in the river before taking it back up to one of the wood piles lining the river. The deceased's oldest son goes through a ritual of bathing in the Ganges, shaving his head, then donning a white robe/sari type attire. The covered body is then put on the pile of wood, a few logs placed on top, and the fire is lit by the son. Some family members wait and watch the cremation, which takes about 3 hours. The doms, or ghat workers (kind of a category of 'untouchables') keep the fires roaring. When finished, the remaining bone fragments are taken by the family and thrown in the river. The next morning, in the early hours, the doms collect the remainder of the ashes, sift through them for gold and jewelry (which they keep), then dump the ashes in the river. We watched about 5 cremation ceremonies happening at once. They continue non-stop, 24 hours a day, with about 200-250 cremations per day. An astounding figure. And it costs about 30,000-40,000 rupees per cremation. It isn't as solemn as we would have thought, since the families believe their loved one will be released from the cycle of rebirth and will go to heaven; there is a general feeling of happiness among them. At first we were a bit uncomfortable watching, but it is all business at the Jalsain and Manikarnika Ghats, and none of the families mind (as long as you don't whip out your camera!!). It was very interesting to have a glimpse of what I think of as a very private time for a family. After observing this, we felt a bit better passing the dead guy for the third time, hoping that he was exactly where he wanted to be when he died.

We headed back to the hotel after stopping to watch one of the many cricket matches being played on one of the ghats. These seem to go on most of the day. They range from serious matches that draw large crowds, to pee-wee criket played by a handful of 5 year olds, just trying to be like the big boys. We dodged more boat drivers and disgustingness. As we got to the stairs leading up to our hotel, we stopped to watch the nightly candle ceremony. At sunset, people buy small little candles set in a bowl made of leaves, surrounded by flowers. They place the lit candle on the surface of the Ganges, either from shore or from a boat in the middle of the river, and say a prayer. Most people release at least 4 or 5 at a time. While eating dinner on the rooftop restaurant at our hotel, we watched as hundreds of these candle boats were floated into the river. We can imagine how spectacular this would look during the festival time at Varanasi when thousands and thousands of Hindus come here.