After spending a noisy and sleepless night in the 3 tier AC compartment of Shivganga Express, I arrived in Varanasi. The train was running about an hour late but everybody waited patiently for the train to arrive at Varanasi station. A twenty minute long bumpy ride for 50 Rs. bought me to Assi Ghat (Riverfront) which is the most upstream ghat of Ganga in Banaras. Amidst a chaos caused by a mela, I was looking around for the hotel where I reserved a room the day before.
The hotel Palace on Ganges seemed like a well maintained recently renovated hotel overlooking the Ganga river or Gangaji as the local people call the holiest river of Hindus. A heavy rain since past couple of weeks in the region made the river flow with the vigour, it has been known for since the ancient times. I requested for the small room next to the roof top garden with an unhindered view of the Ganga and I got it.
My school Hindi textbook had a lesson on Varanasi that made my first connection to the holy city. One can not deny the deep impact of Varanasi on the culture of North India whether it is music, Hindi literature, education or hindu mythology. Its special significance as the city of Shiva brings people from all over India to fulfill their religeous and spiritual needs.A city having such a rich heritage seemed to be in a total state of neglect, as my first rikshaw ride from Assi Ghat to one of the downstream stream ghats revealed. Upon arrival at Dashashvamegh (Ten Horses) ghat, I got overwhelmed by touts offering me a guided tour, cheap boat trip offers and filth accumulated by the uncontrolled offering of flowers and plastic bags to the holy river. I heggled for the price of a good boat trip which we finally agreed upon at Rs. 300.
Sailing upstream against the huge water mass was not very easy for two persons rowing the boat under the command of their boss sitting on the other end of the boat. A gentle wind on the river surface brought some comfort to an otherwise uncomfortable ride in the hot mid-day sun accompanied with a humid weather. Our boat moved slowely along the river bank where the river current was not very strong. As the boat moved upstream, the famous ghats of Banaras started passing like a panorama. Munshi ghat - named after famous hindi writer Premchand. Ghat built by Mysore state. Ghat built by Ahilya Devi Holkar of Indore who was a devout follower of Lord Shiva. The most notable was the Harishchandra ghat where Hindus cremate their dead in the belief that the dead will attain "Moksha".
For a while I thought about Raja Harishchandra, probably the noblest king, India has ever known who sacrificed his kingdom for his commitment and performed his duty (dharma). During my childhood, I heard this story several times from my grandparents. The boat captain, who was also dubbling as a guide, asked me not to take photos of cremation while pointing at the properties of dome (the caretaker of the cremation ground). The mythological story of Raja Harishchandra, as many historians assert, seemed so real with all the locations and the actors standing intact on the banks of Ganga.
As the boat took U-turn, we passed by a fully loaded boat with largely South Indian lady pilgrims enjoying the C shaped sight of the city from the boat. Downstream boat journey was very fast. After ending my boat journey and telling the boat people that I will do my best to come again in the evening for yet another boat ride, I headed for the Vishwanath Temple which is one of the holiest temple of the Lord Shiva. Through narrow lanes known as galis and after crossing three heavily armed security checks, I managed to do darshan of the small Shivaling in the temple known as the Lord Vishwanath.
In the narrow lanes of Varanasi that run along side the ghats you can find cows, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, dogs, sadhus, funerals, cowdung and teashops at rapid pace in a random order. The streets have temples painted in bright colors, residential houses, ashrams, music schools and the cafes for Israeli tourists who come to Varanasi in big numbers. The narrow lanes appeared much cleaner when I saw in the city outskirts the following day.
In a narrow lane near chowk, I spotted the house of Bhartendu Harishchandra who was the first literary writer of modern hindi, a tradition that continued with other famous writers like Premchand and Jai Shankar Prasad in the last century.
It is 7:00 in the evening. I am waiting for the Ganga aarti to start at Dashashwamegh Ghat. The place is full of locals and the foreign backpacker type young tourists who have no clue where they are headed tomorrow morning. Some people are on dharna demanding immediate cleaning of Ganga and making environmental unfriendly dumping of garbage in the river illegal. The city and the river, it has been known for, since two millenia, desprately needs attention. Spencers and Vishal super market chains and a McDonalds family restaurent under a multiplex in IP Mall announce the arrival of 21st century India to this one of the oldest city on the gangetic plains. A key question remains whether the decay and erosion of Varanasi continues or we will preserve it for the future generations.
