Varanasi has several things which make it interesting.. aside from being the business hub for silks and embroidery, it is also the holy city for the Hindu religion... put this with the fact that Varanasi is the longest continuously inhabited city on Earth, and it makes for a deep rich city with so much history you're practically choking on it along with the dust!
We did several activities during our time in Varanasi.. these included both sunset and sunrise cruises on the Ganges River:
At sunset, we boarded a boat and drifted down to one of the crematoriums which are along the bank of the Ganges River. Normally, a these cremations are required to happen in the later afternoon but before sunset, however because of the special holy place at the Ganges, these crematoriums are in constant use as it is the only place that burning is allowed after sunset... the bodies are brought up, bathed in the Ganges river (dunking is actually a good verb, but it dunking is done only in odd numbers, never even) and then the body is placed on the bank. The family (only the males are allow to attend) with wait until they are able to pour clarified butter or ghee on the skull (considered the most sacred part of the body). They will then come back the later to collect the ashes.. it is a solemn sight, but interesting watching a tradition which has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.
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| Bank of the Ganges, Crematorium (Oldest) Can you spot the cows? |
We then participated in the lighting candles and setting then into the river... many people do this nightly - however the most famous festival that Varanasi has is called "the Festival of Lights" which is when everyone comes out and fills the river with candles, flowers, etc.
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| Flower Offerings When offering flowers to the gods, you don't smell them since the essence of the flowers is meant for the gods and if you smell the scent of the flowers you are stealing the essence |
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| Floating Candle with Flowers |
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| View of the lights on the river... |
Afterwards we watched the fire ceremony being performed on the bank of the Ganges by the 12 high monks of the Indian provinces... it was loud and with a fair bit of burning oil lamps. The monks do the hand movements in a synchronized sequence so it was interesting to watch.
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| One of the priests holding an oil lamb |
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| This picture gives you the idea of the number of people who attend the ceremony |
In the morning, we did the same cruise on the river - only it was a very different place... where people crowded the banks at night, it was strangely peaceful and calm.. People bathe in the water to cleanse themselves from their sins (although it is not recommended as the river is very polluted with parasites which can kill people). Still people come and bathe just as their ancestors did.. again, hundreds, thousands of years old...
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| Dawn (believe it or not) over the Ganges River |
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| Men bathing at one of thee Ghats |
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| Women bathe with their old clothes on |
We also visited a "ghetto" like area of the city which was dedicated to Fair Trade silk pieces and textiles. The people we visited were Muslim, and even though it was their holy day, they were nice enough to show us around. They use traditional hand methods for creating patterns as well as hand looms. There are some machine looms as well, used for more complex patterns which are repetitive. We also saw hand stitching etc.
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| Rolling the silk threads onto spools for the looms |
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| Finished product, by hand - takes one worker 1 year for an entire bedspread size piece |
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| Adding pearls and crystal to a wedding sari (by hand) |
Cya Soon!
M&M
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