Part 2: Varanasi – The Shimmer Effect!

It was evening by the time I sauntered around the ghat. It was time for a fiery tribute to the holy river – The Ganges.

As I walked towards the ghat, I saw people swarming, huddling, running, pushing each other. Suddenly, the sound of conch shells echoed the surroundings, marking the beginning of the Aarti. The priests truly displayed their lung’s power. 😛

Soon enough the incense sticks billowed the fragrant holy smoke, which engulfed the praying dias.

I wanted to get a glimpse of the priests performing the larger than life Aarti (prayer). Dasaswamedh Ghat is known for it’s evening Aarti. However the crowd gets to you. It was jam packed with the devotees. I couldn’t squeeze my self in between the people, even if I wanted to. It was like a wall of people. Moreover, I am vertically challenged. Damn! 😛 I tried clicking by raising my hands up and ended up with such ghastly photos. 😉

I decided to hop on a boat and sail on the Ganges. The Aarti was on and I was still in the mid way.  I guess the time for Aarti is around 7 PM. It is usually a 1 hr affair. Man! It was a fabulous view. Everything about it was magnanimous. An orange hue enveloped the praying dias. It was almost like attending a rock concert. 😉

I realized, I was not the only one having my grey cells working. A boat sailing in front of me looked like this…

In the meantime, I started to chat with my boatman. I was curious about the ghats name so I probed him. He told me a rather startling revelation behind the name of Dasaswamedh Ghat. As the legend goes, Lord Brahma (Creator of the universe, as per Hindu mythology) sacrificed 10 horses on the banks of river Ganga to allow Lord Shiva mark his return to Varanasi. He was supposedly banished. Aah! I can’t recall why? This is what I like about mythology, there is a reason for every happening. Alas!

My boatman pointed towards the adjoining ghat as he rowed closer to the ultimate tribute. It was the Manikarnika Ghat. It is where the cremation happens. A ghat which liberates the soul from the cycle of birth and death. Now it was clear. I could instantly recall what I viewed while siting on those gigantic stairs near the banks – Life and Death in a single frame.

Snapping out of mythology, I inched closer to the yet so far tribute.

I looked around. There was a mad rush to reach to the praying dias. Hundreds of boats were  lined up in front of the priests. All the boats were fully loaded with people.

It was impossible to get closer to the priests or to the praying dias.

Advisory: My boatman told me, if I come around the second time to witness the Aarti, I should be near the dias before 6 PM in order to click the close-ups.

So, I made peace with it and started to click.

A great lineup of priests held the camphor lit fiery lamps. Smoke oozed out from them that added to the dramatic representation of the Aarti. These pious lamps were wildly gyrated and swayed to the sound of the manjiras (Indian hand cymbals). The loud spiritual chants of the sanskrit verses were let loose out in the open. All the priests were in sync with each other. It almost looked like a possessed performance. However, it was a well choreographed, rehearsed and coordinated act.

I kept requesting my boatman to keep looking for space to move forward near to the dias. I was glad as he obliged. 🙂

Wow! The Aarti was transcendental…in a way. This electrifying puja is a must watch. What showman ship, display of sheer power and sweat, pure faith, mesmerized devotees all gyrating into the grandeur of the Aarti. 

Once the Aarti was over, the dispersion began. In few minutes extreme silence pervaded. I was sitting and sailing through the calm waters absorbing the magnanimity of a spiritual belief. I spotted the shimmering Ganges. I had never seen something like that before. The light from the ghats shimmered its way to the Ganges.

The devotees made a wish / prayed and floated an earthen diya on a leaf.

There were innumerable diyas floating at night, illuminating the holy river. As if the stars had come down for a swim. It was pure magic. Totally surreal. The attainment of peace accompanied by the splashing of an oar was worth the experience.

I couldn’t have asked for more. Once at shore, I quickly reached out to the praying dias where the priests performed the puja. The crowd, once under a spell was now in motion. I was glad because I could click! 😉

The burnt camphor was still oozing out smoke from the now blackened lamps, covered in soot.

It was a welcome change from the cacophony of the city that sucked itself with loud blaring horns.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

While retreating to my hotel room, I crossed the holiest temple of Varanasi – The Kashi Vishwanath Temple. I was also told to visit many other temples like Durga Temple, Bharat Mata Temple, Sankat Mochan etc…but now you know me well enough ;). For pure historical reasons, I went to view the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was built by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar.

A holy man was standing on the main road who offered his navigation skills to reach the temple. I merely followed him and went inside the narrowest lanes, fully loaded with shops on both the sides. I squeezed myself through the live army of people to reach the temple of the Lord Shiva. Some 300 meters before the temple, I had to take off my shoes and walk bare feet towards the temple.

Advisory: Please visit the temple at your own risk during the rainy season. Your feet might bite into slippery cow dung or filth.

This temple ranks amongst the highest in spiritual value. Man! I couldn’t fathom that a massive temple that speak volumes of it’s historic past was dangerously encroached by various concrete buildings that precariously surround it. The temple is extremely gray. Probably built out of grey mica stones. It houses the Jyotirlinga of Shiva.

Unfortunately the photography wasn’t allowed but it definitely had an old world charm. I have seen many temples but nothing like this one. The way the idols were kept, the deity room, the path ways. It was a great experience to live a life from the past.

In order to get out, I squeezed into the narrow lane and only faith could have got me out. 😉  I chose to walk my way back to my hotel by dodging the cows, bikes, cars, rickshaws and most of all the jaywalkers.

It was an experience worth living for. I found the city chaotic yet charming. I loved every bit of push, nudge, revelation, calmness, madness, serenity, spirituality that’s around this place. A historic city submerged in traditions, soaked in beliefs and afloat on faith is absolutely mind numbing yet insightful.

In my next blog I will be crossing the river Ganges to reveal the fort of Ram Nagar.

Part 1: Varanasi – Stairway to Heaven. Guaranteed!!!

The city of temples, the land of moksha, the city of lights, the oldest breathing city, the land of ghats (river banks). Yes! These are some of the most popular names that refer to one of the holiest city in India – Varanasi or Kashi or Benaras, whichever way you call it, they all mean the same.

Varanasi is the city that routes the holy river – Ganges and has an extreme importance in Hindu spiritual belief. It is a pilgrimage where Hindus takes a holy dip in the river Ganges to absolve their sins. The popular belief is that one gets free from the cycle of birth and death.

I loved the way the various names came into existence for this holy city. According to a legend, two rivers – Varuna and Assi originated from a man when the existence came into being. The land that came between these two rivers was named as Varanasi. Due to this legend the ‘oldest living city’ tag was coined.

The other popular name is Kashi. It means the ‘City of Lights.’ Dwelve into Hindu mythology and one can get a clear picture of what happened in the era of the Gods. The Lord Shiva’s (Hindu God of destruction of evil) Jyotirlinga (a fiery pillar of light) came through the earth and flared up in the sky. Therefore, the city is aptly named as Kashi.

There are many temples which are dedicated to the Lord Shiva. He is the savior and the protector of the Varanasi city.

Well, coming to Varanasi was more of a compulsion rather than seeking spirituality. Seeking moksha for my soul was not on my agenda and securing my afterlife didn’t  even feature in my belief system. I came to attend my cousins wedding. However, when I looked back, I realized the trip was simply worth it. Varanasi lets you attain a connection of a different kind.

I reached Varanasi by flight from Delhi. A modest airport greeted me.

The airport is some 20 kms away from the city. The taxis are easy to get by. The people seemed to be simple and offered a helping hand.

After attending one of the morning ceremonies, it was almost late afternoon. I decided to go and visit the ghats. Varanasi has more than 2000 temples and some 100 ghats.

Transport

There are various modes of transport like auto rickshaw, cycle rickshaw, taxi, bus and shared auto rickshaw. While going to the ghats, I preferred cycle rickshaw. It is the best transport option to wade through the narrow, choked lanes, in a slow motion that brings you near to the ghats.

Advisory – The people seem to love the horns here. They are extremely Horny when it comes to the Blow Job. (I am sure after writing this I will not be going to heaven…for sure. LOL! 😉 What I mean is, when it comes to blowing their horns, they simply press that darn button to produce that loud, blaring, ear ringing sound. You just…can’t…escape it!

While going to the ghats, I came across an interesting sign board.

Sheepishly I asked, “Where is the Baba (in hindi it’s a spiritual guru) Black Sheep?” LOL! 😉

Ghats

Some of the popular ghats are Daswamedha, Manikarnika, Harishchandra, kabir, and Assi ghat. I guess I went to the Daswamedha ghat. The cycle rickshaw was not allowed to reach the ghat. I was dropped nearly a kilometer away from the ghat.

I walked and reached the giant steps leading to the ghat. One can find a lot of people, pilgrims, sadhus (holy men wrapped in orange garb), flowers strewn all around, temples, boats and eating joints. It takes a while syncing with the surroundings.

I sat on the stairs and looked around.

I saw life and death in the same frame. On one ghat, the dead bodies were being lit as they lay on the funeral pyre. On the other ghat, the beings with flesh and faith were taking a dip in the holy water of the Ganges, washing away their sins and almost booking a berth in heaven.

On one side the smoke billowed from the funeral pyre, emanating from the soulful departed. On the other side the smoke arose from pious prayer candles, diyas and lamps. It was such a stark contrast. There were some soaking the ashes in Ganges and there were some leaving a burning earthen diya on a leaf, praying for a secured future.

Absolving my sins was nowhere in the grand scheme of things. I grew up with Hindu sentiments. However, I guess when my mind out grew my pre-fed beliefs, I turned into a non-believer. When one starts questioning the faith and seeks a logic, the religion appears disconnected. All this and more made me seek a deeper insight into the frightful mind of a pious human being.

Is it just the fear of closing out on the doors to heaven? We beings have put our staunch faith in the deep rooted mythology, which was once told to each Hindu but was seldom explained the deeper meaning.

Suddenly, it all looked like an selfish act wrapped up in faith. The real prayer to God was for one self – Absolve “MY” sins, give “ME” a piece of heaven, for “MY” happy afterlife and so on. Where is the prayer to the Lord? The Geeta – A holy book of Hindus states, praise and pray to the Lord, for the Lord and not seek a personal favour.

Maybe I am missing a big link here. However, this is how I felt. In fact, come to think of it, almost all the religions guarantee heaven provided people pray in their respective diktats. Surprising, yet true!

Sadly, people take Hinduism as a lesser religion, probably the way it has been depicted to the audience. The Gods have been mocked upon in a stage performance. Their life stories have been twisted with humour in the Indian films. Mockery took to a new level when the comedy shows portrayed them as mere characters and so on. The deeper meaning is lost between the various mediums.

The dance of life and death did shake me a bit. I got up from the steps and zoomed out of my thought process to explore the ghat.

I took a long walk along the crowded ghat. It was a pleasure to view such a deep rooted culture and belief. I came across flower laden arches wrapped in saffron cloth. 

This was the place where the Aarti (prayer) was performed by the priests in the morning. I heard a lot about the Aarti. I missed the morning one but I made sure to witness the grandeur of the evening prayer. The lamps were shining clean, the oil was being poured into them. The preparation for the evening Aarti was in full swing.

All the ghats seemed to intermingle with each other. It looked like an eternal walk on the banks of river Ganges. They all look the same yet had different names. Just like the various religions of the world. They all preach the same thing yet have different names. How ironical! But again… have we really learnt what they preach? Or have we just outlined our understanding with boundaries of our beliefs? 🙂

While going back to the stairs, I accidentally stumbled upon an old construction which almost was like a ruin. I was intrigued. A local told me a surprising revelation. On the top laid an observatory, named as the Jantar Mantar.

The Observatory – Jantar Mantar

I climbed the monstrous steps to reach the observatory. It was probably four to five stories tall. It has a ticketed entry. The floor I entered into lead me to many well ventilated rooms, which had a spectacular view.

Unfortunately it also provides a refuge to the lovers sneaking into the not-so-obscured corners, indulging in PDA (Public Display of Affection). I climbed up to the roof top. There lay an observatory, a part of the Indian heritage, surrounded by mushrooming houses, almost camouflaging the historic piece.

The only saving grace was the color yellow and it’s larger than life design, which screamed to tell that the history was lying within the confines of the brick houses.

I had picked up a handout about the place from the ticket counter, which had a brief history mentioned on it. This structure was made by the king of Jaipur. He was the same man who was the brain behind the other famous Jantar Mantars. They all are well preserved in various cities like Jaipur, Delhi, Mathura and Ujjain.

The amazing fact was I had witnessed all of them. 🙂 Wow! I felt good about it. This is a technological marvel that solely survived on technique rather than any machinery. It tells the location of the sun, time, location of the planets etc. It is an astronomical delight for the astronomers.

Somehow, I felt the one that I saw in Jaipur is still the best till date. However, the roof top gave me the best aerial view of the ghats.

Evening made it’s presence felt and the people started to throng around the grand prayer dias.

In my part 2, I will be covering the Evening Aarti by the Ganges.