Burning bodies

Varanasi was quite a place. We arrived, hot and tired from yet another overnight train journey and took a walk through the winding, narrow but completely packed streets, down the the ghats that line the edge of the Ganges. There are more the 100 of these ghats, and they are used for different purposes - prayer, bathing, and of course thburning of bodies. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this. Or, more specifically, I didn't know what to expect from my reaction to this. There are 2 burning Ghats along the river - the first day we visited the smaller one. It took me a few minutes to get past the feeling that I really shouldn't be watching such a private ceremony. I realised that, in fact, it is anything but private by it's very nature. The bodies are burnt on bonfires by the side of the river, whilst metres away people bathe, boats row past and people take their daily strolls. At first it was easy to watch. A indistinct shape on a fire. Gradually, though, it became clear where the shape of the body was, where the arms and the feet and the head are, and suddenly it became a lot less easy to distance my mind from. Over the few days we spent in Varanasi we observered the different stages of this rite - bodies carried through the town, laid on the fire, set alight from the eternally burning flame. To be honest, I still don't know what my reaction is.

We took a boat trip along the river at dawn, which was a magical experience - watching the sun rise over the river whilst thousands of people gather at the edges, lighting candle, doing yoga and taking a bath. I still can't quite believe how many people swim and wash so close the where bodies are cremated and their ashes thrown. Even drink from it. Apparently, there are 5 groups of people who cannot be cremated by the river - children below 10, pregnant women, Sadus (holy men), lepers and people who have died roa snake bite. These bodies are simply thrown in.

We ended up staying Varansi longer than anticipated. We got to the station (12km out of town) at 9pm, only to discover that the 17 hour train to Darjeeling was cancelled. We couldn't book another until 2 days later. By this time we were longing for the cool weather of the mountains so it was almost heartbreaking! 2 days later, we left our guesthouse only to find that the rickshaws in Varansi were not allowed out of town (we never quite worked out why) and it took us an hour to find a driver willing (at 4 times the going rate) to drive us to the station. I had to pretend to be ill and keep my head down on Kev's lap - he was to tell the police that we made the drievr take us to hospital. Apparently (I was too ill to see!) we went racing past the police, who were shouting and waving after us. We were late for the train, but luckily the train was even later. By the time we reached the end of the journey, it was 5 hours late, making a total of 22 hours.

So now we're in Darjeeling. It is just so lovely to feel cold! I'm sure it's really not that cold but I'm wearing a fleece and sleeping with a blanket. I'm sure the novelty would wear off but right now it's so welcome. Unfortunately, it's also very misty so mountain views are elusive, but we hope to do some trekking and see more. We were meant to be going to Nepal tomorrow, but the country is on strike so who knows if we'll make it. For now, it's off for a trip on the 'toy train' and with any luck a mountain glipse.