November 10 Ganges in the AM

Monday November 10, 2008

We left the hotel at 5:30am to return one last time to the Ganges, this time to watch the sun rise and witness the morning ritual of purification that Hindus practice by bathing in the holy river. Downriver cremations continued. After spending about 45 minutes rowing up river and listening to chanting, watching holy men, ascetics and lay people bathe and celebrate the power of the river, we disembarked and walked through the winding narrow streets on the hillside above the banks of the river.

We saw the Golden Temple, the holiest of Hindu temples in Varanasi, which is covered by monkeys (a symbol of Shiva). Once again the experience of walking through the streets was a total sensory overload. Each building is painted a different bright color (fuchsia, purple, turquoise, yellow, orange); there are shrines to Ganesh or Shiva tucked here and there; cows lie in the narrow streets; everywhere you look the city seems ancient and timeless; and every nook appears to be someone’s home. We saw ashrams, ghats, mosques and temples.

By the time we finished our walk we were again exhausted and overwhelmed – and we hadn’t even had breakfast yet! I’m writing now on a flight to Mumbai (Bombay) which is the only time I’ve had to turn on the computer. Varanasi will stay with me forever I’m sure. It amazes me to think that tonight the same festival of death and life will repeat itself again – and tomorrow morning the same purification rituals will go on - again and again and again as it has for 5,000 years.