Quick note: by clicking on the title, I think you can link to my pics on facebook (I just know I'll get better at this!)
As suspected, it’s been two short days and I’m ba-ack. I’m in Varanasi, its 9 am and we’ve just come back from sunrise at the Ganges.
The Ganges River in Varanasi is a spiritual pilgrimage site for Hindus. From what I’ve been told by our guides, it is believed that if you die here, or are cremated here, your soul will go straight to heaven. While it is Hindu practice to cremate the dead everywhere, at the river in Varanasi, cremations happen at two pyres along the river 24 hours a day, whereas elsewhere cremations cease at sunset. All along the river are ghats, stone steps leading down to the river where people bathe, collect holy water and pray.
Prior to arriving here, I had heard mixed descriptions about what to expect, from the magical to the horrifying. So I felt some trepidation as our cyclo wound its way through the maze of traffic on our way to the river. The city itself seemed especially vibrant, with shops and people everywhere. When our guide mentioned how much more honking there was here than elsewhere, I was truly surprised because I thought the streets had a more calming energy than anywhere else we’ve been. (Upon some reflection, I think it might be all the bells from the bicycles that have given me that impression!)
When we got to the river, we took a boat out to watch the sunset. There were surprisingly few boats on the water, filled with tourists and Indians alike. Despite the polluted water (that at least looked better than I suspected), the air had a softly sweet smell. As twilight turned to night, we listened to traditional Indian music being played by two musicians, one on a drum the other a sridhar. Although my camera sucks, I urge you to take a look at the pictures because I can’t quite describe to you what the architecture is like, I can only say that it compelled me to sit in silence to take it all in.
In what might be tourist practice only, we were given small trays of flowers with candles in the middle to light and send out on the river with our wishes. I only made one on behalf of all of us: for love, happiness and health. Is there really anything else to wish for?
This was followed by a puja along one of the ghats where several priests had a ceremony, gesturing and moving lighted lanterns in unison. Boats that were along the river crowded in to get a glimpse. It was hard not to imagine how long that prayer had been a nightly ritual in the face of so many changes along the river. (Don’t worry, I shook myself back into the present several times in order to enjoy the show!)
Finally, as I mentioned, this morning we returned to look at the river at sunrise. Many of the ghats were busy with people bathing and praying in the river. In the boats were the tourists, taking pictures of the same. Watching people perform such intimate acts of spirituality, I found myself looking away. It felt uncomfortable contemplating photographing people in those moments, in the stillness of their acts of hope and meditation. On the other hand, given the public nature of the ritual, perhaps part of it is meant for display?
When we dismounted the boats and began to walk along the ghats, I had an overwhelming urge to put my feet in the river. Realizing that the only thing holding me back was the fact that I was not alone, I walked down a set of worn stone steps to the river. I put my foot in the Ganges and looked up into the rising sun. For a moment, I felt as though a circle closed: life, death, me, the world. It seems natural that people would want the last of their body’s existence to be here on the banks of the river, where life and hope and beauty and death coincide. For a moment, I forgot about the others in my group, waiting at the top of the ghat. Afterwards it occurred to me that perhaps the people in the river that everyone was photographing simply didn’t care.
If the picture of burning bodies and death seems gruesome, let me assure you that bobbing along the banks of the Ganges, what you observe most of and are consumed by is life.
Next post will at least be sorta funny, I promise.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
actually, everything is possible
greetings from orcha!
i'm sitting in our hotel lobby providing afternoon tea for the mosquitoes and hoping that i wont get malaria and thus this posting will be worthwhile from at least one vantage point! my plan was to post pictures in some format to go along with this post, but both flickr and facebook are refusing to let me in, so i'll have to try that the next time i'm near wifi (which is not as frequent as i'd imagined)
preliminaries: sorry that i'm not capitalizing this properly (or bothering with grammar), i'm still getting used to this netbook keyboard and using the shift key more often than not results in caps lock! i will make it a goal to make my writing less annoying!
where i'm at/have been:
i'm on a GAP tour from delhi to kathmandu right now and it's been a bit of a whirlwind -- safe to say there is NO possible way that i could travel the country with such efficiency without a guide -- nothing is especially clear and everything is a chaotic! we started in delhi (after a smooth flight that spat out my luggage at the end) and have already been to jaipur and agra (home of the taj mahal)... today we are in orcha, a small village in madhya pradesh (check the link above). we're staying in these 'tents' which are outdoor tent/hut things on the compound of a pretty posh resort.... it's really very peculiar... we have a tv and outhouse-ish shower/toilets inside of our rooms as well as air con and a fridge? we're about to go to a prayer ceremony which i will be woefully underdressed for followed by a contextually inappropriate party among the members of our tour (we had out tuk tuk stop at a 'liquor store' (ie a barred up shack) on our way into the village... i know, i know!)
highlights:
the taj mahal lived up to its billing -- even in the wake of a dicey GI day in my world. we were there for about 2.5 hours and it literally flew by. the thing that was most amazing is that although there were tons of people there, it managed to maintain an air of serenity. you can sit and walk around and feel utterly enchanted by the awesomeness of the building, to the exclusion of all of the people milling around you. they give foreigners these red 'shower caps for your feet' to use when you walk in the actually structure but i couldnt resist walking with the cool marble against my feet. the building is truly a wonder and got me wondering: what kind of person conceives of and builds something like this? how did he treat mumtaz when she was alive? how must it have been to be imprisoned by one's son for years and looking out across the lake at the taj mahal?
impressions:
since people had cautioned me about streets flowing with excrement, i have found india much less overwhelming than i might have. the traffic is chaotic, the streets are dirty and the air smells a mix of burning something (garbage? diesel?) and waste (cow? human?)
[insert night of drinking and a lack of certainty about what current GI problems relate to, nevertheless, back at it in the lobby]
cont'd:
what is far more overwhelming than the surroundings is the condition of some of the people i am seeing. there are no shortage of beggars or people trying to hawk souvenir products. while most of the people begging look alright, there are those who look badly deformed or obviously quite ill. guidebooks and people will tell you not to start handing cash out on the road because the line will not ever end, cannot ever end. one of my travel mates has even suggested that it is dangerous to show that level of vulnerability while out on the streets and i can see where that comes from. but then it seems that the goal must be to ignore the suffering of all of these people and carry on with your holiday? i cant seem to reconcile this type of goal with being human. in fact, i'm not sure how to reconcile the situation with myself at all quite yet. rest assured this is not the last you'll hear of it.
on a lighter note:
some of you have asked me what i've forgotten/missed... here goes!
i forgot my beloved q tips --- and i am only somewhat ashamed to say that they have appeared to me in at least one dream since arriving -- ear hygiene is important!!!
i also forgot one of 3 t shirts that i planned to bring with the hopes of just buying all my clothes in india (that plan hasnt worked so far yet, lots of tourist clothes, not actual tasteful indian ones) ... jess helped me out in a jam and gave me an emergency one, but when i got here i realized that it says "DAM U"!!! -- in a land where you cant show skin, i've elected not to wear the expletive t shirt :) (but i appreciate the sentiment, jess :))
finally, i have managed to lose a whole host of items over the past 7 days, for reasons that i am yet to determine but given the scant number of things i've packed, is causing increasing concern. i lost a strap to my main backpack at the airport, nail clippers in jaipur and then i left my pjs in the hotel in agra (and so now the DAM U shirt has found a purpose!)
where next?
tonight we are taking the night train to varanasiinternet, there might be two postings in quick succession (i know, exciting! ;))
ps - click the heading to go to pictures (i think)
i'm sitting in our hotel lobby providing afternoon tea for the mosquitoes and hoping that i wont get malaria and thus this posting will be worthwhile from at least one vantage point! my plan was to post pictures in some format to go along with this post, but both flickr and facebook are refusing to let me in, so i'll have to try that the next time i'm near wifi (which is not as frequent as i'd imagined)
preliminaries: sorry that i'm not capitalizing this properly (or bothering with grammar), i'm still getting used to this netbook keyboard and using the shift key more often than not results in caps lock! i will make it a goal to make my writing less annoying!
where i'm at/have been:
i'm on a GAP tour from delhi to kathmandu right now and it's been a bit of a whirlwind -- safe to say there is NO possible way that i could travel the country with such efficiency without a guide -- nothing is especially clear and everything is a chaotic! we started in delhi (after a smooth flight that spat out my luggage at the end) and have already been to jaipur and agra (home of the taj mahal)... today we are in orcha, a small village in madhya pradesh (check the link above). we're staying in these 'tents' which are outdoor tent/hut things on the compound of a pretty posh resort.... it's really very peculiar... we have a tv and outhouse-ish shower/toilets inside of our rooms as well as air con and a fridge? we're about to go to a prayer ceremony which i will be woefully underdressed for followed by a contextually inappropriate party among the members of our tour (we had out tuk tuk stop at a 'liquor store' (ie a barred up shack) on our way into the village... i know, i know!)
highlights:
the taj mahal lived up to its billing -- even in the wake of a dicey GI day in my world. we were there for about 2.5 hours and it literally flew by. the thing that was most amazing is that although there were tons of people there, it managed to maintain an air of serenity. you can sit and walk around and feel utterly enchanted by the awesomeness of the building, to the exclusion of all of the people milling around you. they give foreigners these red 'shower caps for your feet' to use when you walk in the actually structure but i couldnt resist walking with the cool marble against my feet. the building is truly a wonder and got me wondering: what kind of person conceives of and builds something like this? how did he treat mumtaz when she was alive? how must it have been to be imprisoned by one's son for years and looking out across the lake at the taj mahal?
impressions:
since people had cautioned me about streets flowing with excrement, i have found india much less overwhelming than i might have. the traffic is chaotic, the streets are dirty and the air smells a mix of burning something (garbage? diesel?) and waste (cow? human?)
[insert night of drinking and a lack of certainty about what current GI problems relate to, nevertheless, back at it in the lobby]
cont'd:
what is far more overwhelming than the surroundings is the condition of some of the people i am seeing. there are no shortage of beggars or people trying to hawk souvenir products. while most of the people begging look alright, there are those who look badly deformed or obviously quite ill. guidebooks and people will tell you not to start handing cash out on the road because the line will not ever end, cannot ever end. one of my travel mates has even suggested that it is dangerous to show that level of vulnerability while out on the streets and i can see where that comes from. but then it seems that the goal must be to ignore the suffering of all of these people and carry on with your holiday? i cant seem to reconcile this type of goal with being human. in fact, i'm not sure how to reconcile the situation with myself at all quite yet. rest assured this is not the last you'll hear of it.
on a lighter note:
some of you have asked me what i've forgotten/missed... here goes!
i forgot my beloved q tips --- and i am only somewhat ashamed to say that they have appeared to me in at least one dream since arriving -- ear hygiene is important!!!
i also forgot one of 3 t shirts that i planned to bring with the hopes of just buying all my clothes in india (that plan hasnt worked so far yet, lots of tourist clothes, not actual tasteful indian ones) ... jess helped me out in a jam and gave me an emergency one, but when i got here i realized that it says "DAM U"!!! -- in a land where you cant show skin, i've elected not to wear the expletive t shirt :) (but i appreciate the sentiment, jess :))
finally, i have managed to lose a whole host of items over the past 7 days, for reasons that i am yet to determine but given the scant number of things i've packed, is causing increasing concern. i lost a strap to my main backpack at the airport, nail clippers in jaipur and then i left my pjs in the hotel in agra (and so now the DAM U shirt has found a purpose!)
where next?
tonight we are taking the night train to varanasiinternet, there might be two postings in quick succession (i know, exciting! ;))
ps - click the heading to go to pictures (i think)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
up up and away!
In preparation for this trip, I read a lot of books about India. The one exception is the book that I am finishing on the eve of my departure, Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuscinski. It’s a great read and since I’ve already bored many of you with the details, I’ll spare you (you’re welcome). Let’s just say that if you are inclined to wanderlust, I think you’ll enjoy it.
Over the past months as I’ve shared my most recent scheme, many people have asked me, ‘why!?!’ often followed by ‘why India!?!’ Honestly, I don’t exactly know why India. For a long time something in my heart has drawn me there and finally my mind has caught up. Maybe by the end of this chapter of my blog, I’ll be able to answer the question.
As to the former question, a passage in Mr. Kapuscinski’s book gave me a suggestion for a possible root of my nagging desire to get out and see what everyone else is doing:
“Herodotus was therefore a Greek Carian, an ethnic half-breed. Such people who grow up amid different cultures, as a blend of different bloodlines, have their worldview determined by such concepts as border, distance, difference, diversity. We encounter the widest array of human types among them, from fanatical, fierce sectarians, to passive, apathetic provincials, to open, receptive wanderers – citizens of the world.“
For me, there is some magic to the idea of long-held traditions, the cohesiveness of culture. But it is the fact that we all have these things, ours by accident of our birth that make the last words of this passage resonate with me. Citizenship of the world compels me to see it, but also to involve myself in it… so that’s how I end up t-1 days from 4.5 months of seeing (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka?) and being and 1.5 months of doing (South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre).
“Herodotus was therefore a Greek Carian, an ethnic half-breed. Such people who grow up amid different cultures, as a blend of different bloodlines, have their worldview determined by such concepts as border, distance, difference, diversity. We encounter the widest array of human types among them, from fanatical, fierce sectarians, to passive, apathetic provincials, to open, receptive wanderers – citizens of the world.“
For me, there is some magic to the idea of long-held traditions, the cohesiveness of culture. But it is the fact that we all have these things, ours by accident of our birth that make the last words of this passage resonate with me. Citizenship of the world compels me to see it, but also to involve myself in it… so that’s how I end up t-1 days from 4.5 months of seeing (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka?) and being and 1.5 months of doing (South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre).
First stop? Delhi!!!
Thank you everyone, for a most lovely send off!
(For those of you who are already penning a cheeky comment, go ‘head, I can take it! That said, I promise that my entries will get more entertaining when they are not being written from my go transit mobile office ;))
(For those of you who are already penning a cheeky comment, go ‘head, I can take it! That said, I promise that my entries will get more entertaining when they are not being written from my go transit mobile office ;))
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
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