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Varanasi: The Sensory Bomb of Hindu India at Peak Rush Hour
Published by Drew Tapley, Managing Editor & Writer
Country: India 
The Experience
Varanasi city is the living and breathing expression of Hindu India at peak rush hour. It is everything that has been said about it, and more than can ever be said through the limitations of language. India is generally like a sense-bomb detonating inside your head and saturating your senses. So much so at times, that one regularly stops in motion to drink in the wonderment of it all. Varanasi city is the brazen embodiment of this.
Prepare for unbridled India minus any packaging—unwrapped and uncensored. Varanasi city is an animated pilgrimage of resplendent ceremonies guaranteed to shock and delight in equal measure. Coming into this ancient city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is like walking back in time. The people, the buildings, even the air feels different in Varanasi and the energy is charged with something mystical, almost other-worldly. Anyone who is interested in seeing the real India must come to Varanasi city, for the relentless force of impassioned worship amid the filth and degradation by which it’s routinely immersed in is an example of the unbelievable levels of religious ritual for all cultures. There is simply nothing comparable to Varanasi city in India, or anywhere in the world I have been, and I could write page after page and still never fully satisfy the urge to record it all. Better to offer a taste—a morsel from the main dish to whet your appetite.
The 2,510 km of the River Ganges flows into Varanasi city on its way to drain into the Sunderbans Delta of Bangladesh. Hindus believe the River Ganges is the lifeblood of India, and worship it in accordance with their lore as a goddess bringing pious prosperity to wash away the sins of humankind. I was staying about 2 km away from the main Dasashvamedh Ghat (meaning “ghat of ten sacrificed horses”) where the morning puja (blessing) is given to the rising sun by a reported 60,000 pilgrims each day. This can best be seen as a tourist from the River Ganges itself during a sunrise boat tour.
Despite the fact it’s one of the most polluted rivers in Asia, the River Ganges ("Ganga") is sacred water. Polluted at its glacial source by industrial effluents, twenty sewers then divest directly into the river from around Varanasi city. There is no trace of dissolved oxygen in the River Ganges, and the water contains 120 times the widely recognized limit of bacteria considered safe for bathing. The colour and smell of it alone are enough to tell you this even if you missed that paragraph in your guidebook. However, the enchanting virtue by which the devout Hindus of the holy city bestow upon the River Ganges somehow defies the laws of disease. The sacred river water is used in religious rites; to wash and swim in; to drink; and also as a burial site.
Constructed wooden funeral pyres burn the bodies of deceased Hindus and intern the ashes into the River Ganges in moksha (liberation) from the cycle of human life. This continues unabated for 24-hours every day along the western banks of the River Ganges. Separate concrete podiums are used for cremating the bodies of sadhus (Hindu holy men) and higher caste Brahmin Hindus.
Those who are unable to be cremated for religious reasons (pregnant women, babies, and even cows) are bound in cloth and taken into the River Ganges by boat to be ceremoniously (and unlawfully) cast into the water. This all takes place on a daily basis with tourists looking onto the scenes from the ghats, or even up close and personal. Varanasi city and its entire cultural mores are bared wide open to see for anyone who wishes to see them, and the concentric and disparate worlds of the tourist and the city dweller exist in a symbiotic tandem here. A cleanly dressed man who described himself as a “ghat manager” approached me with gentle aplomb to unleash a friendly explanation of the cremation ceremony that I was witnessing. He then asked for a donation to buy wood.
You can literally walk the western bank of the River Ganges all day every day and see a new revelation every few minutes. There are over a hundred ghats, and you will pass thousands of prostrated devotees facing the River Ganges and reciting pujas. Dhobi wallahs (laundry women) are washing clothes waist-deep in the river whilst their children are swimming among the rubbish that is washed ashore. There are smiles and laughter and kindness and love from everyone, and the occasional cricket ball can be seen flying through the air. Clothes are baked in the sun to dry and dress the River Ganges banks like the brightly-coloured flags of a carnival. The ghats are filled with people and the activities of eating, talking, sleeping and praying. Food is cooked and sold to locals and tourists all along the river banks. It seems that just to be near the River Ganges is all that matters in Varanasi.
Prepare for unbridled India minus any packaging—unwrapped and uncensored. Varanasi city is an animated pilgrimage of resplendent ceremonies guaranteed to shock and delight in equal measure. Coming into this ancient city in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is like walking back in time. The people, the buildings, even the air feels different in Varanasi and the energy is charged with something mystical, almost other-worldly. Anyone who is interested in seeing the real India must come to Varanasi city, for the relentless force of impassioned worship amid the filth and degradation by which it’s routinely immersed in is an example of the unbelievable levels of religious ritual for all cultures. There is simply nothing comparable to Varanasi city in India, or anywhere in the world I have been, and I could write page after page and still never fully satisfy the urge to record it all. Better to offer a taste—a morsel from the main dish to whet your appetite.
The 2,510 km of the River Ganges flows into Varanasi city on its way to drain into the Sunderbans Delta of Bangladesh. Hindus believe the River Ganges is the lifeblood of India, and worship it in accordance with their lore as a goddess bringing pious prosperity to wash away the sins of humankind. I was staying about 2 km away from the main Dasashvamedh Ghat (meaning “ghat of ten sacrificed horses”) where the morning puja (blessing) is given to the rising sun by a reported 60,000 pilgrims each day. This can best be seen as a tourist from the River Ganges itself during a sunrise boat tour.
Despite the fact it’s one of the most polluted rivers in Asia, the River Ganges ("Ganga") is sacred water. Polluted at its glacial source by industrial effluents, twenty sewers then divest directly into the river from around Varanasi city. There is no trace of dissolved oxygen in the River Ganges, and the water contains 120 times the widely recognized limit of bacteria considered safe for bathing. The colour and smell of it alone are enough to tell you this even if you missed that paragraph in your guidebook. However, the enchanting virtue by which the devout Hindus of the holy city bestow upon the River Ganges somehow defies the laws of disease. The sacred river water is used in religious rites; to wash and swim in; to drink; and also as a burial site.
Constructed wooden funeral pyres burn the bodies of deceased Hindus and intern the ashes into the River Ganges in moksha (liberation) from the cycle of human life. This continues unabated for 24-hours every day along the western banks of the River Ganges. Separate concrete podiums are used for cremating the bodies of sadhus (Hindu holy men) and higher caste Brahmin Hindus.
Those who are unable to be cremated for religious reasons (pregnant women, babies, and even cows) are bound in cloth and taken into the River Ganges by boat to be ceremoniously (and unlawfully) cast into the water. This all takes place on a daily basis with tourists looking onto the scenes from the ghats, or even up close and personal. Varanasi city and its entire cultural mores are bared wide open to see for anyone who wishes to see them, and the concentric and disparate worlds of the tourist and the city dweller exist in a symbiotic tandem here. A cleanly dressed man who described himself as a “ghat manager” approached me with gentle aplomb to unleash a friendly explanation of the cremation ceremony that I was witnessing. He then asked for a donation to buy wood.
You can literally walk the western bank of the River Ganges all day every day and see a new revelation every few minutes. There are over a hundred ghats, and you will pass thousands of prostrated devotees facing the River Ganges and reciting pujas. Dhobi wallahs (laundry women) are washing clothes waist-deep in the river whilst their children are swimming among the rubbish that is washed ashore. There are smiles and laughter and kindness and love from everyone, and the occasional cricket ball can be seen flying through the air. Clothes are baked in the sun to dry and dress the River Ganges banks like the brightly-coloured flags of a carnival. The ghats are filled with people and the activities of eating, talking, sleeping and praying. Food is cooked and sold to locals and tourists all along the river banks. It seems that just to be near the River Ganges is all that matters in Varanasi.
When to Go to Varanasi Ganges
The best time to visit Varanasi city is between September and March. Avoid the notorious Indian summer and also the rainy season as the banks of the River Ganges (and everything in it!) will flood.
Varanasi city is very easy to travel to and from by rail, air and bus from every direction, and most people come from Delhi to the west or Kolkata (Calcutta) to the east. The main airport is 22 km from Varanassi city centre at Babatpur and the train station is a major rail junction linked to all chief cities throughout India. Most tourists either fly into Varanassi or come by overnight train. If time permits, take the train. You haven't tasted this country unless you have experienced a long-distance train journey through the countryside villages of India.
Varanasi city is very easy to travel to and from by rail, air and bus from every direction, and most people come from Delhi to the west or Kolkata (Calcutta) to the east. The main airport is 22 km from Varanassi city centre at Babatpur and the train station is a major rail junction linked to all chief cities throughout India. Most tourists either fly into Varanassi or come by overnight train. If time permits, take the train. You haven't tasted this country unless you have experienced a long-distance train journey through the countryside villages of India.
Odds n' Ends
Be careful of your health in Varanasi for it truly is a filthy city by even the most liberal of standards. However, do not be put off visiting because of this and remember that all things worth seeing and doing carry with them a minimal risk. To miss Varanasi and its treasures for fear of germs would be doing a grave injustice to your experience in India. Just be careful of what you eat and drink and always carry some kind of sanitary wipe or fluid with you. I wasn’t careful, and I paid the price for my oversight.
In the unlikely event that you do get sick (let’s say you get a chronic case of the “Brad Pitts”) you can visit a local English-speaking doctor easily and quickly who will give you a prescription with an instant effect. You pay the doctor directly for their time and their prescription (a few hundred rupees) and you’re as right as rain in no time. There are almost no restrictions for what you can buy over the counter in Indian pharmacies as long as you know what you want and what dosage you need. However, I do recommend seeing a doctor first to make sure you don’t have anything serious. The doctors here see dozens of tourists each week with gastro-intestinal problems, so they are experts in recognizing the symptoms and prescribing the right cure for you.
The regular power cuts in Varanasi take some getting used to. Most cities operate a system of shutting down the electric power grid each day, but it happens here with more regularity than I have encountered anywhere else in India. A close second is Calcutta. There is a place by the Dasashvamedh Ghat that offers Internet access on computers powered by car batteries, and the novelty is worth the experience even when the power is on.
The heat and humidity can be stifling so it’s a good idea to break the day up with time indoors and outside in the shade. There are loads of temples on the ghats that offer some degree of shade to shelter. The Hindu funeral ceremonies are fascinating, but remember to keep a respectful distance and do not take photographs as this will likely offend (there are loads already on the Internet if you're curious). There might be a few unsightly things floating past you on the riverboat, but this is rare and the boatman will be aware of tourist sensibilities and avoid the possibility.
Restaurants, doctors, travel agents and Internet services are peppered throughout the backstreets just behind the main ghats. Accommodation can also be found here, and this is the best place to stay for tourists as it’s close to the River Ganges.
http://www.drewtapley.com
In the unlikely event that you do get sick (let’s say you get a chronic case of the “Brad Pitts”) you can visit a local English-speaking doctor easily and quickly who will give you a prescription with an instant effect. You pay the doctor directly for their time and their prescription (a few hundred rupees) and you’re as right as rain in no time. There are almost no restrictions for what you can buy over the counter in Indian pharmacies as long as you know what you want and what dosage you need. However, I do recommend seeing a doctor first to make sure you don’t have anything serious. The doctors here see dozens of tourists each week with gastro-intestinal problems, so they are experts in recognizing the symptoms and prescribing the right cure for you.
The regular power cuts in Varanasi take some getting used to. Most cities operate a system of shutting down the electric power grid each day, but it happens here with more regularity than I have encountered anywhere else in India. A close second is Calcutta. There is a place by the Dasashvamedh Ghat that offers Internet access on computers powered by car batteries, and the novelty is worth the experience even when the power is on.
The heat and humidity can be stifling so it’s a good idea to break the day up with time indoors and outside in the shade. There are loads of temples on the ghats that offer some degree of shade to shelter. The Hindu funeral ceremonies are fascinating, but remember to keep a respectful distance and do not take photographs as this will likely offend (there are loads already on the Internet if you're curious). There might be a few unsightly things floating past you on the riverboat, but this is rare and the boatman will be aware of tourist sensibilities and avoid the possibility.
Restaurants, doctors, travel agents and Internet services are peppered throughout the backstreets just behind the main ghats. Accommodation can also be found here, and this is the best place to stay for tourists as it’s close to the River Ganges.
http://www.drewtapley.com
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Elsewhere on the Web
- Varanasi City - VaranasiCity.com
- The Ganges River - HowStuffWorks.com
- Avoid dysentry
- Stay healthy: How to avoid dysentery on your visit to Varanassi.
- Wikipedia: Puja (blessing)
- Learn about the Hindu practice of puja (blessing).
- drewtapley.com
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