Journal Entry: First Day at the Ghats of Varanasi
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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I came out of my guesthouse that is pretty close to the river and the ghats. A girl tries to sell me deep – small flower bowl with a wick lamp to float on the river. I see an old woman going around a sacred ficus tree. The tree is colored yellow with turmeric all over the trunk and many small threads circles around the trunk. Making a pradakshina around the trunk of peepul tree, binding a thread around its trunk and smearing turmeric on its trunk is a practice that is followed by women all around India.
A woman goes around peepul tree
I move ahead towards Assi ghat and see several boatmen waiting for customers. A tourist is haggling to get a fair price while the boatman is aiming for the best price. There seems to be an equal mix of tourists and locals on the ghats. A baba chases away a dog that is trying to pull out some of his belongings, and a few seconds later feeds that same dog, unmindful of its deeds. A man is half immersed in the Ganga, praying to sun god. A tourist accompanied by a guide is looking for some bhang and is not able to find any. But I see him on the street next morning, completely doped and acting out of his mind. Several boatmen are asking the people walking on the ghats – “sir, do you want a boat?” There are many boats docked and many more engaged.
A view of the ghats
I move on and see a small animal kingdom ahead. Water buffalos are having whale of a time in the river. Something suddenly surfaces from the water and disappears before I have a good look at it. I presume it is the Gangetic Dolphin, and am glad they have still survived in the polluted water. There is a large population of bank mynahs making a ruckus like they always do. A few parakeets lookout from their holes on the wall. Monkeys squat high on ghats. They seem to prefer top of the buildings to trees.
Water buffalo and Mynahs
I meet a professional photographer on the way. We sit and chat for a while and decide to catch up over dinner. A couple of boatmen walk by and check if we want to go on a boat. A little further, children are playing cricket. The guy with the bat is good; he dishes out two sixers in succession. Sometimes the ball falls in the river and one of the fielders jumps between boats till he can reach for the ball without getting his feet wet. I recalled someone telling me at Rishikesh about street cricket. He showed me an image of a game of street cricket on his camera and said, “for me, this is what the real India is like”.
Monkey business!
I walked slowly for an hour, looking around and seeing the Varanasi that attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists. I was tired by the time I reached Dasaswamedh ghat and stopped for some refreshments. I was about to return to my guesthouse, but stopped for some more time when I realized that a Ganga Aarathi is about to begin. I watched the aarti for sometime, and tired that I was, returned to have some dinner and end my day.
Read more about Varanasi on paintedstork.com
* Images of Varanasi
* Travelling to Varanasi from Corbett
* Arriving at Varanasi
* Many perceptions of Varanasi
* First day at the ghats
* Boat ride on the Ganges
* An encounter on the ghats
* Photo Essay: Ganga Aarti
* Life on the ghats
* About Varanasi