Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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During one of my many strolls on the ghats in Varanasi, I was sitting in a corner, camera in hand and looking for anything that could be interesting. Some one walked in and sat next to me. He started a conversation in broken English and hurled many questions at me at once! He wanted to know many things – like where am I from, was my camera Japanese, how much did I pay for it, etc. He did not look very friendly but I answered him anyway. He wanted to have a look through the viewfinder, which he did. He wanted to have a good look at the other bank, which was too far.
“I can’t see the east bank properly in this,” he said.
“Yes, it is too far,” he replied, “You won’t be able to see the other end well,”
He did not seem to be satisfied with my answer.
He bursted out – “A camera, which can’t help you see the other side is useless crap!” Bekaar is the word he used for it.
I am not sure if he wanted to annoy me or pick up a fight, but if that was the intent, he had picked up the wrong man. So far I had given terse answers to his questions, but this remark made me smile. I told him I could not afford anything better than this. He insisted again that my camera is crap, and seemed to be intrigued by the fact that I am still smiling. He then cut short with the tangential conversation and got down to business. He introduced himself and started a monologue.
“We have a silk shop near so and so ghat. We sell Benarasi silk sarees and many other artifacts. You will like them. You can come and visit us anytime…”
Saying that, he handed over his business card. I could not help but feel that he won’t go too far in his job as a salesman. I nodded silently, took the card and pocketed it. He was unsure what to say next, whether to continue talking to me or move on. To his luck, another traveller walked past, carrying some long object enveloped with a cloth cover. Our salesman sprang from his seat and rushed towards him asking what instrument was he carrying! I watched them walking together for some distance, and continued on my way!
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
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: First day at the ghats
+Next: At the ghats: bumping into a salesman!
+Go to beginning of the series
On my second day in the city, I woke up early to take the famed early morning boat ride on the Ganga. I walked down to Assi ghat at 5.30 in the morning. There were already many people next to the river. Scouting around a bit, I found a bunch of boatmen waiting for customers. After a short discussion with themselves about who should get me, one of them started a conversation with me. He started in Hindi, but he did not seem to be appealed by my broken Hindi and decided to speak broken English instead! Being my first boat ride here, I did not know much about the place but my guidebook had given me an idea of the prices.
At first, I said vaguely –
‘I want to go till the other end and come back’
‘That will take four hours. At Rs.150 per hour, it will be Rs.600,’ he replied.
The numbers looked way too high. And I did not want a four-hour ride anyway.
‘Not for four hours. Let’s only make it two hours. One hour for going and one hour coming’
‘Okay, I will take you up to Manikarnika ghat. That will be one hour from here. Rs.300 for two hours’
We haggled a bit. My guidebook suggested a price of Rs.60 per hour and he was way off that mark. Finally he agreed for Rs.150 for two hours and we got on to the boat.
During the early morning boat ride
It was just before dawn and the east was turning from dark to orange. There was some activity on the ghats but very few boats on the river. As we moved into the middle of the river, I noticed a kid with a small boat that was just big enough to fit him in. He rowed towards us and I watched him wondering what is he up to. He came close to us, nearly touching our boat and asked if I would like to buy ‘deep’. I was mighty impressed with his entrepreneurship and dedication to work. Later while we were coming back, I saw a couple of bigger boat where they hooked on to tourist boats and sold small statues and other souvenirs.
A view of the ghats
Sunrise over the Ganges was beautiful. As the sun moved upwards, more and more people walked on the ghats to have a dip in the Ganges, pray to sun god and perform morning meditations. Groups of men and woman walked into the river, took the customary holy dip, murmured prayers and climbed back up. Yogis sat cross-legged with rudraksha mala. Men and women squatted with eyes closed and hands held together in prayer. The ghats were live with activity.
A hermit in prayer
women praying…
Ganga looked calm and still with little flow in this early summer. My boatman Naresh told me that she flows fast and furious in the monsoons and the water level rises much higher. Sadly, the industrial waste flowing in from Kanpur and other cities upstream ensured that the water was dark, polluted and repulsive. My dream of swimming for hours in the deep waters of the Ganga had to remain unfulfilled.
A woman praying…
After nearly two hours, we returned to Assi Ghat where I was staying. The two-hour boat ride was an excellent preview of Varanasi. I was introduced to the magical enchantment of the religious Varanasi and at the same time was subjected to the stark realities of depletion of the holy river.
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
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: Many perceptions of Varanasi
+Next: Boat ride on the Ganges
+Go to beginning of the series
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