Last Stop in India ~ Varanasi!

Varanasi is India on steroids. We arrived after a 13 hour train ride in the heat of the day. The traffic, horns, dust, rubbish, cows, horses, goats, heat and smells welcomed us and were way too overwhelming considering the bout of ‘Delhi belly’ that I was fighting. I spent the remainder of Saturday locked away in my room pretending that I wasn’t in India. The only English channel on the 12” TV played the Hannah Montana movie and The Day the Earth Stood Still. In my humble opinion, Keanu Reeves was really only good in the Matrix. Sunday was also spent in recovery and trying to clean laundry, a seemingly simple yet impossible task here. I have added a washing machine and dryer to my list of things I really miss from home.

On Monday, we got up with the sun and hired a boat. The man rowing our boat was adorable. He was three rows away from having a heart attack, which is why I quickly tried to recall the steps to CPR, just in case. He had the most remarkable ear hair, in both length and quantity, which I’ve ever seen on a human. He also liked to repeat the four English words he knew over and over through his almost toothless mouth...I loved him!

Varanasi is the spiritual heart of India. The Ganges River runs right through it, and the waterfront is buzzing with activity 24 hours a day. The elderly population of India make their final journey to Varanasi to die. I was not really prepared, emotionally speaking, for what that might mean for people like us out for a sunrise cruise on the Ganges. Before I continue, if you’re eating right now, you may want to read the rest of this later on!

The Ganges, the holiest of holy rivers, is the lifeblood of India. Here’s what I have seen the river used for: drinking, bathing (humans, monkeys, dogs and buffaloes), laundry, disposing of waste, disposing of bodies (human, cow, dog), prayer and worship. Depending on your caste, age, etc., you are either burned or placed in the river once deceased. We eventually made our way to one of two main burning areas. Here, we smelled hair and flesh burning, saw corpses burning on logs. It was surreal. I was overwhelmed with emotion at the seemingly non-ceremonial way the bodies were disposed of….feeling the heat from the fires, covered with ashes of the dead...it made me uncomfortable and even more sick to my stomach. I spent the remainder of the day in quiet contemplation and shock.

The next day, I went off on my own to the second burning site, determined to face what I was uncomfortable with and to attempt to understand it…to observe with an open heart and mind, now that my stomach was better prepared to handle it. I saw two corpses, heads uncovered, go through the process from start to finish. There is actually a ceremony, simple yet respectful, involved for those whose families are present. I came to accept that this is the way it is for this culture. The Ganges and all that it symbolizes is the conduit to heaven for the Hindu Indians, therefore, the way that the dead are disposed of, while shocking to Westerners like me, is exactly what those who follow that belief system hope for all their lives. I found peace with it when looking at the situation from their perspective.

We tried banana lassies at the infamous ‘Blue Lassi’ shop. I took a cooking class, where I learned how to make a delicious mango and coconut soup and rice pulao (rice with vegetables). I had a Reiki treatment done to cleanse my body of bad energy. The Yogi performing the treatment on me said that I was itchy (allergies), that I was thinking too much, and that I had a bad stomach. Not too bad of a diagnosis!

Gundula and I have done some shopping...bought some cool scarves and wood carvings. I ventured off into the city on my own yesterday, first to the post office, then to the ‘mall’. The post office was like a step back in time. They put my stuff in a box, tied the box with string, wrapped the box with cloth, sewed the cloth up, then put hot wax seals all over it. I burned my finger on one of the seals. At the mall, I was elated to find a McDonald’s. I tried the McVeggie burger. It wasn’t great, but the French fries were delicious...it was like I had found a long, lost friend in the unhealthy yet comforting food from home! There are no hamburgers at McD’s in India, in case you were curious, only chicken and fish. Interestingly, they also have ‘Pizza Puffs’. Sadly, no McFlurries! I went into a proper clothing store where there was air conditioning, Western music and proper dressing rooms. Also, no one was hassling me and I didn’t have to negotiate on the price. It was WONDERFUL!! I restocked on tops…nothing that I came into India with is coming away with me…it’s all too filthy. Later this morning, Gundula, who has been learning how to give Reiki treatments, will give one to me as her graduation. Then, we fly to Delhi. We plan to hit the clubs to celebrate our last night in India together. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to Gundula…our relationship has blossomed into a wonderful friendship and the experiences we have shared together and memories we have made here and in Bali, I will always treasure.

As this is my last entry from India, allow me please to share my thoughts on my whirlwind tour of Northern India - 12 cities in just over 6 weeks! India is incredible; drastically diverse in landscape, climate and culture. It is one of the most accepting countries I have visited, tolerant of all belief systems and people. The people are beautiful, leading colorful, disciplined lives. India is intense - it has stretched my comfort zone in many directions, which is a good thing. I have learned to go with the flow and accept the way things are in a way that no other experience could have taught me. Most of all, India has taught me that you always have a choice in how you see things. You can choose to smell the cow shit and the rotting garbage or you can choose to smell the sandalwood and incense permeating the air. You can choose to see the pollution and the chaos or you can choose to see the beauty and the order within the chaos. You can choose to love it or you can choose to extremely dislike it. I choose love! I wanted to come to India for some hard core traveling...I definitely got it and so much more!

I am so excited about seeing my Brother tomorrow in Thailand that I can hardly sit still or hold a thought in my head (to paraphrase Shawshank Redemption!). ;)