Vari-nasti

Nothing can prepare you for Varanasi - we thought we had our 'hard hats' on, but they blew off as soon as we got into the tuk tuk taking us to our hotel from the train station..

The Ganges, the 'holy' mother river, apparently one of the only things all Hindus can agree on. Indians pilgrims come here to bathe in the holy water to cleanse away sins and purify for a lifetime - and also come away with a water borne illness

It was really quite sad actually, the city of Varanarsi has a lot of charm with its narrow cobbled little paths. Silk sellers, beautiful fresh vegetable vendors and wondrous Indian baked goods line these weaving little streets, all nestled behind the river Ganges. Then on course there are the famous ghats that line the mother river, some specifically for bathing, others for praying, and of course a few for cremating the dead. Note if you die a holy man, pregnant woman, or if you die with an infectious disease, you don't get cremated, your body just goes in. Yes, we actually saw floating bodies, we even saw a dog having a marvelous time gnawing away at the remaining flesh of a human head it fished out of the river.

Walking the streets was more like a graceful dance navigating the puddles of shit in these narrow streets. Dog, cow, goat, chicken, human, it was all there, more often than not all in the same cobblestone. The locals tended to go barefoot, I wished for army boots over my flimsy Birkenstocks. 

It really was one of the most interesting places I have ever been, I am kind of in awe of it. We watched an evening ceremony honoring the river where inscense are burnt, words are chanted by 1000s of people lining the steps of the ghat and in boats. A ceremony honoring the river where raw sewerage runs into,  bodies are thrown into and animals and humans freely dedicate in. It's mind-boggling for me. I hope so much for that the next generations become more environmentally aware, particularly for the people of India that rely on the river for farming and fresh water. While I personally don't believe the water is holy, I respect people's beliefs, and hope that environmental and hygine education can be taught as part of these beliefs.