Our last day in India (Day 19)

India Day 19

We are spending the last full day of our trip in Varanasi. (That’s the city where the bombing happened.)  We woke at 5 a.m. and headed by bus across the waking city to the banks of the River Ganges to witness the morning cleansing and cremation rituals.  Our leader took us to the water’s edge and we boarded a large row boat.  We paddled along the 7 km Ganges river edge and admired the spectacular “gnats”.  Years ago, many Maharajas (kings of various regions in India) built large castle-like accommodations along the edge of the river.  People believed at that time and still do, that the Ganges is a magical river.  If one dies along side it, the body would be cremated and placed into the river.  The soul would go directly into “heaven”.  As the years passed, these riverside palaces were handed over to the “priests” of the Maharaja’s families.  Today most of them are occupied by seniors and the sick, waiting to die.  Many wealthy families in India donate money to maintain these gnats so that the elderly can stay in them for free during their last days on Earth.

As the sun rose, many other tourists floated along side us.  Some placed candles in the water as an offering, while others just sat in awe!  Local people came to the river’s edge daily all year round to bath, wash clothes, pray, and of course cremate their dead relatives.  We passed large fires where a pile of large logs was placed in a heap, the body was laid on top face up, and finally there was a variety of spices sprinkled over the body (incense).  It would take several hours to burn the person and then the ashes were put in the water.

After about an hour, we came ashore and walked the medieval streets stepping over fecal matter, urine, garbage and people.  Everywhere in India, tourists are always escorted by vendors selling everything imaginable.  We purchased a collection of henna coloured bottles with miniature stamps so that once back home, we can decorate our skin with symbols of India.

Next, our guide took us to two different temples:  the Varanasi University temple where many students we practicing their morning exercises; and, to the famous Monkey Temple which is crowded with monkeys stealing the glasses right off your face.

We left at noon for the airport to begin our journey home.  We fly to Dehli, then to Brussels and finally home to Toronto.  This should take us 16 hours and if the snow doesn’t get in our way, we will be back in Toronto by noon Friday Dec. 10.

Below is a pic of the cremation and the other pic is one last look out the bus window as we drive to the airport.

Gnats at Varanasi on Day 18

Varanasi is a wild and crazy place.  Tomorrow we are leaving for the Ganges River at 5 a.m. to witness the action at the "gnats" along the 7 km stretch of riverside in downtown Varanasi.  I will report back to everyone who is following our adventures and let you know what happens in the morning.

Here we are about to place our good luck flower candles in the Ganges minutes before the bombing.

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What Are 'Ghats'?

These are a very special type of embankments that are actually long flights of wide stone steps leading down to the river where people can take a holy dip. But there are more to these Ghats than just bathing and cremating. Each of the eighty-four Ghats of Varanasi holds some special significance.

Viewing the Ghats from a boat on the Ganges, especially at sunrise, is an unforgettable experience! They offer a panoramic view of the various early morning activities - from ablution to workout - of a multitude of people, for whom the river is the be all and end all of life. It's also a pleasure to walk down the entire stretch of the Ghats along the Ganges. Here people consult the astrologers under their palm leaf parasols, buy offerings for rituals, sell silk apparels and brassware, or just gaze at the faraway horizon where the mighty river meets the heavens.

India Day 17

We woke this morning in the ancient city of Varanasi to discover that one child was killed in last night's bombing down by the River Ganges and 37 people were injured.  We decided to wait until tomorrow to visit the river once again to watch the cremations and the placement of ashes in the Ganges.  Let's hope that the terrorists have all gone away.
Varanasi (Sarnath is 10 kms outside of the city) is also famous worldwide for the location of the first Buddhist monastery where Buddha himself lived, prayed, meditated, and gave his first sermon to his disciples in 500BC.  Mark Twain once wrote, "Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together." We have included a picture of Susan standing in front of the room in ruins where Buddha would meditate.  Tourists from around the world visit this location to mediate, pray, chant, and reflect.  They also make offerings of gold leaves and other things by placing the offering on the red brick walls.
After lunch we visited a family silk manufacturing business where we were given a demo of how this family still makes saris, bedding, wall hangings, and scarves on ancient looms.  You will see in the picture, a young teen and an old man working together on the oldest loom making a bed covering.  It was 60% pure silk and 20 % gold and silver.  (more silver than gold).

We finished the day by visiting another famous temple called "Mother India".  There we were given a geography lesson on why India is such a great place to be.  India is surrounded by a natural fortress known as mountains (Himilayans), and seas.

India Day 16

Before we left Khajuraho, we went to visit its famous sculptured temples.  Of the 85 original temples which we built around 950 to 1050 AD, 20 remain today.  These large sandstone temples are richly carved with excellent sculptures that are frequently sensual and sometime explicitly sexual.  They were built to explain the Hindu's interpretation of life.  Hindus believe that knowledge will allow you to rise above the physical being and reach nirvanha.

We went to the Khajuraho airport around 3 p.m. and flew for an hour to Varanasi.  After briefly checking into the hotel, we took a rickshaw ride through the city of thousands to the banks of the Ganges River.  Varanasi is the oldest occupied city in the world and is famous for Hindus being cremated on its banks and ashes placed in the river.  Each evening, a variety of rituals are performed on the banks of the Ganges with tens of thousands of people looking on.  We were there tonight with the crowds.  There was bell ringing, chanting, and lights.  People were lighting candles and placing them afloat in the river.

Around 7 p.m. this evening, as we watched this beautiful ceremony, a bomb exploded only meters from us.  One child was killed and 20 people were injured.  The crowds stampeded away from the river bank as we watched stunned!  Our tour guide managed to get us away from the area and back to the hotel safely.  The breaking news reported that India is now on high alert.  We are suppose to leave by plane for Dehli on Thursday at noon and then home to Toronto in the middle of the night Thursday.

We are not sure what will happen to us at this point.
We are glad we are not American.

India day 15

We left early this morning from the Bandhavgarth Tiger Reserve and traveled 8 hours back to the city of Khajuraho.  We are relaxing at the Lalit Hotel and tomorrow we will be visiting the Jain Temples down the street from the hotel.  Sue did take lots of pictures out of the bus window today on route.  We did stop to pee in a very busy town around lunch and met some young men on the street.  Indians always want to know from where we came and what we think of their country.  Then they want their pictures taken with us.  They stand very close and stare very intently.  (Like we just landed from outer space.)
The Indian government recently passed an "access to information act" which allows any citizen to access any information regarding any level of government for a small fee.  The info. will be provided within 72 hours of receiving the question.

India day 14

India day 14

We visited Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve twice today. The first time was early in the morning and the second time was later in the afternoon. We were going on a Tiger hunt and this is what we found in this very large Indian park reserve:

Langoor black faced monkey (extra long tail and great jumper)
Rhesus monkey (red bum)
spotted deer (favourite food of the Tiger)
Barking deer (voice sounds like a dog barking / very timid)
Samba deer (big brown and statuesque)
jackel (wild scavenger dog)
elephant (wore chains on feet and used to flush out the Tiger)
Racket tail bird (two extra long tail feathers)
white throated Kingfisher
common Rose butterfly
dragonfly
Spotted Dove
Lapwing bird
Indian Roller bird (beautiful turquoise blue)
Parakeet (noisy)
Oriental white eyed buzzard
common Hoopoe bird (looks like a jack hammer)
Pippit bird
Indian Grey Hornbill
Wild Boars (hung around in groups / Tiger food)
Egret (large white water bird)
Lesser Adjutant Stork (seems to be dressed in a tuxedo)
Bija Tree (Pterocarpus Marsupium) -used by villagers to make drums
Driver was Gooda and helpers were Lakhan and Lalan. They helped us locate a Tiger. We were thrilled to be able to take a few photos

Later in the evening, we had a demo on how to make dahl, which is a sauce eaten with nan (pita) or rice. We also had a lecture on the Tiger and learned that they are nearly extinct (only 3000 or so left worldwide) because many people around the world are ignorant and will hunt and kill the tiger for a token amount of money. People , especially the Chinese and the Koreans, who are wealthy, are continuing to pay the poor and uneducated to hunt and kill the Tiger to use every part of it. i.e. aphrodisiacs and trophies.

India day 13

It is Sat. Dec. 4, and we have a full days drive ahead of us.  The Lalit hotel in Khajuraho packed us a very unhealthy box lunch to take along the route.  We are heading to Bandhavgar National Park with its steep cliffs, rocky hills and dense bamboo forests to find the Tigers of India.  

Along the route, we passed through many small towns and villages.  Every one of them was overcrowded.  People, animals, garbage, and vehicles continue to be everywhere.  The average age in India is 37.  We stopped around noon for a washroom break in a busy town.  We went into a store and purchased some deodorant and then had an opportunity to speak with several young men who were in their early 20’s.  We took pictures of them.  The first 3 questions Indians always ask are ....1.  Where are you from?  2.  Where are you going?  3.  How old are you?  Indian men and boys like to stand very close to you and they like to touch you.  They always smile and want you to take their picture.  Some of them even want to exchange emails.

Later in the afternoon, we came upon about 20 people walking down the middle of the road carrying a flag and doing something very strange.  One of the males would lie on the road, place a stone in front of himself, do a front roll moving the stone a body length.  Then another man would continue to do the same.  They took turns to move the stone along.  They were parading their way to the temple which might have been more than 10 km.  They did this ritual if they had prayed for something and a god answered their prayers.

After leaving this morning around 8 a.m., we finally arrived at the Tiger park lodge around 5 p.m.  The road was so bad leading into the park, that the jeeps had to come and save us and our luggage for the last 4 km.  Each of us got our own tree house for accommodations.  Early tomorrow morning, we begin our search for the elusive Tiger.