DAY 4

January 31, 2025

INDIA – A COUNTRY ON STEROIDS

Karen and I were in Varanasi first, just two years ago. It was such a moving experience we had to bring Connie and Todd. This city on the Ganges is the most holy city for the Hindu religion (80% of Indias). They bring their dead here to be burned on the bank of the Ganges then spread the ashes in the River. Each Hindi must visit this holy site at least once in their lifetime. I encouraged you to look up Varanasi, the Hindi religion, and this years special, once every twelve years, the Maha Kumasi Mela (NYT January 15, 2025). Over 400 million Hindu pilgrims from around the Globe will bathe in and around the Ganges River and the nearby city of Prayagraj.

Our program, just as we did two years ago, calls for an early morning (6:00 AM) and an evening visit to the River. Karen and I opted to skip the early morning portion. We met the kids  along with guide Shruti for breakfast at the hotel. By the way, we learned that the hotel has only 14 rooms sited on 30 groomed acres – an oasis in this chaotic city. After breakfast we visited a silk factory coming away with various purchases.

At 4:00 we headed for the river. Fortunately, Karen stayed back. Once again the streets are unbelievably crowded – way too many lanes for the width of the road. Suddenly we see an entire lane coming towards us on our one lane street and again a few cows stop everything as they cross.

Several things have changed on the bank of the river. Giant praying hands have been constructed along with a pop up children’s amusement rides. Everything is much more crowded than I remember. We have a double decker boat that would hold dozens to ourselves – with a great view of the river and the shore along with the hundreds of boats. In fact, yesterday, a large boat crashed into a small boat throwing 40 people into the river. Life vests are required – no one died.

My pictures do a much better job describing the shore line than I can. Three things stand out – the huge crowds of people – an endless row of buildings of different styles – and a few fires. It takes 12 hours to burn a body and the demand is so high the fires burn 24 hours a day.

We end up spending several hours cruising down the river and back. The boat traffic seems to grow as darkness takes over – most without lights. We can see and hear several celebrations conducted by young priest on shore. Once again, you really need to visit Varanasi to feel and see this remarkable place.

At the end of the ride we each lit a small candle surrounded by a ring of marigolds and place it in the river with a wish. My wish is to return during this special time twelve years from now with our Great Grans. As we disembark our guide Shruti, remarked that India is a country on Steroids! I could not agree more!

Robert