Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India. Hindu pilgrims come to the ghats lining the river Ganges to wash away their sins, bath in the holy water, wash their clothes, even drink the water (however, the level of pollution is unbelievable as the sewage from lots of towns on the Ganges is not treated and goes directly in the river.) and to cremate their loved ones. Ghats are steps leading all the way down to the Ganges.
If they can afford it they bring their deceased loved ones here to be cremated on one of the gahts – in public, and this sight is not for everyone. Being cremated here liberates Hindus from the cycle of birth and death, that’s why it’s the wish of every Hindu to end their life journey here. You can often see corpses wrapped in orange cloth that had previously been doused in the holy water of the Ganges, waiting to be cremated near the burning ghats. The main burning ghat – Manikarnika is used 24 hours. Apparently it’s an art calculating how much wood is needed to burn the body. The wood is carefully weighed so that the exact price for cremation can be calculated. They also use different kinds of wood, sandalwood being the most expensive.
The most colourful ghat is the Dasaswamedh Ghat where every night at 7pm you can watch a GANGA AARTI ceremony with fire and dance. That is if you manage to escape touts trying to drag you to numerous silk shops, boat owners offering a trip down the river and flower sellers who, except for different flower necklaces, sell candles that you can see floating down the river. Yes, we did buy them and watch them gently float away from us 🙂
When we visited, the month long festival of Hindu God Shiva was starting which meant hundreds of pilgrims coming into the city (many young ones dressing in orange and walking the streets in big groups, barefoot, always chanting something). Varanasi was busy, bursting with life, colourful and overwhelming, but also strangely peaceful around the burning ghats and on the boats on the river. An other worldly experience.
belated gap 