GHAT HOPPING BY THE GANGES - A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO VARANASI

Hindus believe that being cremated on the banks of the sacred Ganges at Varanasi releases them from the cycle of reincarnation. I wonder if maybe they managed to pay a visit to Varanasi before the event, would coming back seem like such a bad idea after all? This most sacred, mystical place has an affect on the senses that is simultaneously eerie and warming. Gazing through the mist you almost feel as though the mist itself has a presence, a presence so much older and wiser than anyone you have ever met and a stillness that strangely soothes all in its environs.





The Ganges is a river, it is a bath, it is a laundromat, it is a cemetery, it is a busy street lined with boats and yes, it is very polluted. On the first walk onto the ghats the eyes are overwhelmed with an urge to look two ways at once. There are people everywhere, for many different reasons. A cricket game is taking place on the bank as we walk by. People are bathing everywhere and just metres away bodies are being burned. One is unsure whether to avert the eyes but nobody seems to care. A few metres further and people are washing their clothes, beating them like they're their worst enemy, and miraculously these clothes are emerging spotlessly clean from the murky waters. Varanasi has a way of bringing all of these activities together in perfect harmony, each one seeming like it is absolutely supposed to be happening beside the next. Each time you try to turn away, something draws you right back in, an inexplicable compulsion to learn more and more of these peculiar goings on.



A dawn boat ride on the Ganges is without doubt the best way to experience all of the above, only with the virgin morning mist adding a little more magic to the proceedings. The sound of very loud laughter fills the air from the small gatherings of laughing yogis, a very therapeutic and long practised technique on these banks, I must admit I let out a chuckle or two myself and felt only delighted! From before the first splink of light people pour onto the river banks to begin their rituals in the sacred waters. It feels such a privilege to float by and witness these ancient waters playing host to rituals which have taken place for possibly thousands of years.



Equally as captivating is Puja, the flamboyant evening prayer ceremony. The magic of this ceremony has to be experienced to be understood. It is an hour long display of flowers, candles, fire, smoke, smells, music and movement. It is a mesmerising celebration with an energy so potent that it forces you to ingest more and more. We decided to take in Puja from both the steps of the ghat and from a boat on the Ganges over two nights, we weren't disappointed. Varanasi is without doubt one of our favourite places we've ever been to.





On a finishing note we would firstly like to apologise once more to our dedicated blog followers for the very late posts recently, we promise to resume with more regularity now that the festive season has come to an end.

Secondly we have discovered over the past few months that dreams really can come true and we hope that in 2009 all your dreams big and small become happy realities. Lots of love Les and Przem xx