| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 09 February 2005 |
|
 |
|
I woke up at 5:20 AM. Though I was planning on having a Bath in the Ganges, I chickened out and decided to have a shower in the room. The Water in the room was lukewarm. We departed the Hotel at 6 AM and boarded the same Rickshaw that we had taken a day earlier. The Driver wanted the business and we were comfortable with him. We drove to Kedar Ghat and waited to board a rowboat. We finally managed to find a rowboat and we proceeded on the river Ganges along the Ghats. The Sun was just rising. The Atmosphere was great. After 5 minutes of rowing, our 20-something boatman pulled over into one of the Ghats and a teenager took over the rowing of the boat! (That contained 6 Adults)
I noticed many people were bathing in the Ghats. I should have braved the weather and done the same. I reached down into the river, scooped some water on my palm and sprinkled the same on my head. This being the Symbolic equivalent of an Actual Dip in the Ganges!
After 10 more minutes of rowing we reached one end of the Ghats and the Boatman (rather Boat Kid) turned the boat around to take us to the other end of the Ghats. As we reached the Prayag Ghats, we observed hundreds of Pilgrims taking bath in the Ganges. Took pictures of the same. We reached Manikarnika Ghat that is famous for the cremation of the Dead (along with Harischandra Ghat).
The Boatman requested us not to take any pictures wherever the dead were being cremated. I complied. That's the least I could do to respect the dead. We returned to our initial drop-off point at Kedar Ghat around 8 AM and I tipped the boatman Rs.10 (20 Cents). The lone foreigner who was travelling on the boat did the same thinking it was the Boat Fare. As we had arranged for a package deal with our rickshaw driver who in turn would have paid the boatman our fares for the boat ride, I explained to the foreigner that we (my dad and I) were on a Package deal and that 10 Rupees was a TIP and not the fare for the ride. Being a non-English speaker, he nodded assent and mumbled something. I hate tourists who do not do their homework and thereby deprive someone of their earnings!
We proceeded to have breakfast in a nearby restaurant where the food was edible! We then continued to Benaras Hindu University (BHU) and the Birla Mandir located within the same campus. As I had studied in a University run by the Birla family, nostalgia about my college days surfaced as we entered the campus of BHU. After spending around 15 minutes at the Mandir (Temple), we drove around the campus. This is a huge campus. Compared to this my university was small!
We continued to Tulsi Mandir where we watched the Hindu epic Ramayan being reenacted in puppet shows. This was an interesting concept and I enjoyed it. We headed back to the Train Station and booked our tickets to Allahabad for the next day. We got back to the Hotel and paid the Auto Driver Rs. 300 (US$ 6 - for the 2 of us) for the entire trip. Quite a bargain, if you ask me.
After Lunch at the hotel, I wrote my diary. We walked around the cantonment area in the evening. It is quite a dump. Nothing of any interest lies here. We returned to the hotel, chatted for a while before proceeding to the restaurant for a light dinner and heading back to our room. We were to depart for Allahabad by train the next morning. Hope it is not too crowded and it arrives at Varanasi on schedule and reaches Allahabad on time!
|
We finished breakfast by 9 AM and departed the Hotel around 10:15 AM. On reaching the station we found out that the train was late by 2 hours! The Train finally arrived around 12:30 PM. The Compartment we were travelling was quite empty and we encountered 2 youths from the State of Bihar who also boarded the train at Varanasi and were going to Allahabad. Theirs was an interesting story:
The two young men had come to Varanasi and Allahabad carrying the ashes of their paternal grandfather who had passed away some days ago. Their objective was to dissolve these ashes in the Ganges at Varanasi and at Allahabad. This is a common custom among most Hindus. When we say dissolving the ashes, we are talking about a small urn here. No more than 3-5 Ounces. I digress. The younger of the grandsons was a University student who had shaved his head as well in lieu of his grandfather's death. This is yet another common custom among Hindus. These gentlemen were carrying their Grandfather's ashes in a small urn that they hung around their necks. Whoever was carrying this urn of ashes was not to sleep or wear any footwear while carrying the same. Whenever one of them was transferring the urn to the other person, he sprinkled the other with some water from the Ganges (which they carried in a bottle) before transferring the urn to him. In other words, one of the young men was always awake and carrying the urn during their entire trip from their hometown to Varanasi and thence to Allahabad.
I was pleased to have met them and conversed with them.
Getting insights into the beliefs and cultures of people always fascinates me.
We finally reached Allahabad around 5:45 PM. We took a rickshaw to our Hotel
that was ˝ Kilometre away and cost us Rs. 5. This was the hotel (www.kanhashyam.com) that I had belaboured
to book 3 months in advance. We did get a nice Double room. We were paying
approximately Rs. 3000 (US$ 60) per day. This included all meals (Breakfast /
Lunch / Dinner) for the 2 of us. I approached the front desk to obtain some
information about the Kumbh Mela. These folks were downright rude. As I
observed during my entire stay at this Hotel, they would interrupt answering
your queries to answer someone else's queries and attend to their request while
leaving you unattended! As I would observer over the next few days, apart from
the Staff at the front desk, the rest of the Hotel staff were quite nice.
We had dinner around 8 PM. Dinner was buffet style and it had a decent vegetarian selection. Since we had not had any lunch, we gorged ourselves on the food. We went for a walk after dinner. This place has a lot more life than the cantonment Area (where we stayed) of Varanasi. We got back around 9:20 PM to the Hotel. We requested a wake-up call at 6 AM the next morning with the intention of taking a dip in the waters at the Sangam!
|
We woke up on schedule at 6 AM and had a cup of coffee before setting out. We departed the hotel at 6:45 AM and hired an Auto-Rickshaw to take us as close as possible to the Sangam. (The Tri-Veni Sangam as it is called is the Confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the Mythical Saraswati). Needless to say the rickshaw driver profited from our need. He charged us Rs. 100 (US$ 2) for a distance of approximately 8 kilometres. This took us almost 25 minutes as the police had blocked Vehicular access on most routes to the Sangam. We were dropped about 1 Kilometre away from the Sangam.
We proceeded to walk to the Sangam from our drop-off point. The Crowds though huge were not bad. Guess it depends on your sense of perspective. On the Holiest of days (January 24), there were apparently 30 Million people at this Place. Guess a lot of them had departed after that. On reaching the water's edge, I took off my outer garments and out them in a plastic bag before wading into the water. I did the same with the sandals I was wearing. Even though this was around 7:20 AM, the water was quite cold. Just decided to bite my teeth and brave it. All I had on was a pair of trunks and a shirt. We decided to get as close to the Sangam as possible.
To reach the Sangam (the meeting point of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the Saraswati) we had to wade for approximately 150 metres. As the water at its deepest was no more than 3 feet, this was not difficult. We were gradually getting used to the Cold. It was more difficult for my Dad as he was 63, while I was just 36! As the flow of the two rivers (Ganges and Yamuna - especially the Ganges) varies, the Sangam is not at a fixed point. A Wooden barricade had been erected near the Sangam. This was to separate those of us who chose to wade a long way into the waters and those who chose to use the services of rowboats to reach the Sangam. As we got close to the barricade, I decided to take the first plunge in the thigh deep waters.
Handing over everything to my Dad, including my spectacles and watch (did not want to test its water resistant nature!), I squatted in the thigh deep water, faced east and immersed myself thrice as per the Hindu Tradition. My dad promptly informed me that I did not immerse myself fully as my back was not wet! Doh! I did it again. Taking the towel offered by my dad, I dried myself quickly and took over all the stuff from my dad. My Dad then proceeded to take the Symbolic 3 dips in the Sangam Waters. Since the waters here are considered holy, we proceeded to fill a small bottle with the water from the Sangam. This was primarily for my family back in Madras who were not able to make it here. They would sprinkle this water on their heads thereby taking a symbolic dip in these waters. Owing to the millions of people taking a plunge in these waters, the silt had mixed with the water, resulting in muddy coloured water. Needless to say, we will have to wait for the sediments to settle down before using them.
After completing our Dips at the Sangam, we reached a less crowded area on the banks of the river and dried ourselves thoroughly and dressed up (We had carried a fresh set of clothes with us). We decided to visit the nearby temple dedicated to the God Hanuman.
According to the Hindu Epic Ramayan, Hanuman assisted the God Rama in his quest to rescue his (Rama's) wife Sita from the Demon King Ravana. This temple was unique in that it had a reclining Hanuman. Usually Hanuman is shown in temples as kneeling at the feet of Rama. This reclining posture was therefore unusual. As in many places of worship, the crowd was trying to surge through a narrow opening to get a glimpse of the deity. Prudently my Dad decided to stay back, while I surged through the crowds and emerged victorious at the other end after having glimpsed the reclining Hanuman.
Since no transportation was available back to the city from this area, we walked approximately 2 kilometres to get a rickshaw to the city. It cost us Rs. 20 plus a Rs. 5 tip and a 35-minute ride to get back to the city. This was a pedal-operated rickshaw. Similar to a tricycle with a passenger carriage on top of the hind wheels. We got back to the hotel around 10:10 AM and decided to have breakfast before it closed at 10:30 AM! After breakfast, my Dad decided to take a nap, as he was a bit tired. I took a shower and went in search of an Internet Café! (I was having withdrawal Symptoms!) The Prices were quite reasonable (Rs.50 / hour = US$ 1). I spent around half-an-hour on the net and was charged just Rs.20. (40 Cents)
This being a Sunday, most shops were closed. I wandered aimlessly for a while before heading back to the Hotel. It was 1 PM. We headed for Lunch around 1:30 PM. |
|
| Copyright © - "Gopal Venkat" |
|
 |
| Other travelogues by the same author: |
|
|
|
