Varanasi Dawn

The Itinerary:

"Feb 8: Varanasi. Early morning boat cruise on the river Ganges - duration about two hours — The best time to visit the Ghats is dawn when pilgrims take their morning dlp. The most famous Ghat is the Dasadwamedh Ghat from where we begin this tour. Enjoy the boat ride while looking out for the people on the Ghats — the women bathing discreetly in their sarees, the young men displaying prowess in yogic postures & the Brahmln priests offering prayers. Return back to your hotel to freshen up after the visit. Late morning — you are at leisure to walk along the ghats. This is good time to interact with the pilgrims and Sadhus."

One reason I copy and paste the relevant portion of our Easy Tours of India itinerary into the blog each day, is that it theoretically should make blog posting faster - just add pictures. That implies that I will not feel compelled to ramble on with my own semi-relevant musings, as I am doing here. The Reader can see how well that is working out.

Another reason for including the itinerary descriptions is that offers an opportunity to compare the "demo" to the "implementation". First let me state that we have been very happy with "Easy Tours of India" thus far. Their facilitators have been met us every step of the trip to help navigate airports and hotels, their guides have been universally knowledgeable, helpful, and personable. No glitches yet in either the hotel or travel arrangements. That said, I cannot help but be amused at the description yesterday and today Of a "boat cruise" on the Ganges. The "cruise" is comprised of our guide Sigrid, me and our guide Dharum being rowed along the waterfront in a leaky skiff (I think the boat is called a "nhaw" in Hindi).

No complaints - since it is just us, we control the "cruise" navigation and duration, including some extracurricular activities. The rowing seems appropriate as it evokes legends of the River Styx, when we somberly approach the cremations on the ghat.

Enough rambling - a selection of pics from a remarkable morning on Mother Ganga, watching pilgrims wash their sins away in the river and celebrate the gift of a another day:

Ganges River - Wash those sins away.

Darwhun: "Really?"

MW: "Yes, I want to do this."

Darwhun: "Why?"

SW: "My husband is crazy."

MW: "I won't be coming here again. I have one chance to wash all my sins away by bathing in the Ganges. Why wouldn't I take that opportunity?"

Darwhun: "The water is very polluted."

SW: "My husband is crazy."

MW: "You have bathed in the Ganges, have you not?"

Darwhun: "Yes, many times. But only when my mother visits Varanasi and makes me go with her. She is very religious."

MW: "All these people bathe here every day. It can't be too bad."

Darwhun shakes his head: "Well, maybe the other side of the river. It is not so polluted over there."

SW: "My husband is crazy."

We were in a skiff in the middle of Ganges River watching pilgrims bathe all along the Varanasi shore. I was ready, with swim trunks under my pants, and the jersey in the pack.

I couldn't go into the full reason why I was compelled to take this action with our local guide Dharwhun, but will share the full story with The Reader now. Due to incompetent coaching by Lovie Smith, I lost a wager to my Green Bay backing nephew in a head to head match-up with my Bears last season. Under the terms of the wager, he demanded I wear a Green Bay Packer jersey in a photograph in front of the Taj Mahal. I was desperate. What greater sin is there for a life-long Chicago Bear fan? Here was the answer:

Hindus believe that the water from the Ganga can cleanse a person's soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill."

The jersey has been exorcised by the power of the river.

My soul is clean.



In the immortal words of Carl Spackler - "So I've got that going for me. Which is nice."

*****

UPDATE February 7 2011: Yeah... I really didn't think this thing through. The very next season, almost one year to the day...

"Capping one of the greatest postseasons for any quarterback, Rodgers led the Pack to their first NFL championship in 14 years Sunday, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. They reclaimed the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for their legendary coach who won the first two Super Bowls and is making his own star turn in New York in the play named after him."

Varanasi - Evening on the Ganges

The Itinerary:

"Feb 7: A city tour of Varanasi that includes visits to the numerous temples that dot the banks of the holy river. You will be able to walk through the narrow lanes and stop by at the bazaars to have a look at, among other things, the world famous Banaras silks. Sunset cruise on the Ganga — cruise on the Ganga at sunset and have a grandstand view to witness to the ancient prayer and oil lamp ceremony, as hundreds of lamps are sent floating on the holy river as the sun sets."

After a wild drive through Varanasi traffic, we walk through crowded streets to the banks of the Ganges river. There our guide secured a skiff where we row along the waterfront.



The ancient history of the city and its spiritual significance to Buddhism, Hindu, Jains, and Islamic religions are important context to the cacophony of sights, sounds and smells that assault the senses in this place. Our guide Dharum, does his best to provide every bit of that context over the next few hours.

It will take a while to digest what we experienced here. This will have to be a placeholder post as I don't have time to do it justice or even sort through the hundreds of photos. In the meantime, a selection of photos and impressions from the our evening on Mother Ganga.


The city is primarily Hindu. These pictures focus on two important aspects of Hindu spiritualism on the river.

The open air cremation of bodies on the river at this particular ghat occurs 24 hours a day seven days a week, and accommodates over 300 bodies a day. Because Hindus believe that cremation and burial in Varanasi on the Ganges releases the soul from the cycle of life and death, bodies are transported here from all over India.

After drifting past the cremation site, we returned to the ghat where we left, just in time to watch the Dev-Dipavali Mahotsava - a spectacular celebration of life and spirituality that takes place every night on the river. It is an energetic celebration and thanksgiving for every single day of life. the spectacular is repeated every night of the year on the river. The best way I can describe it is one part Mass, one part tent revival meeting, and one part part Busby Berkeley musical.

I recorded much of the ceremony on a digital video cassette to better capture the hypnotic sound and spiritual stagecraft with better fidelity. I'll post an edited version here eventually, but in the meantime this clip from my point and shoot will have to do.

India Date: February 7, 2010 11:00 PM