Ekma – Varanasi
I bought a ticket to Varanasi at the station. Wise from my previous experience, I got into a general (unreserved) compartment. There was absolutely no place to sit. So much so that some people tied their dhotis (spare ones, not the ones that they were wore) to rods in the compartment and grills on the window and made hammocks where they rested peacefully. The train stopped at every small station and was so slow that I felt like I could run along the train and keep up with it’s speed. The only empty space I found in the compartment was the overhead luggage carrier above the seats. I climbed up and waited for someone to leave so I could pounce on their seat. This was a foolish hope since everyone was well-aware that once they got up, they would never get to sit again. Hence everyone stuck to their seats like fevicol ka mazboot jod.
Reached Varanasi at 3pm. Incidentally it is the oldest living city in the world. Nana had spoken to his friend in Varanasi (who was a teacher at the Sanskrit University) to help me with accomodation and getting around the city. I took an auto and went to the Sanskrit University. I asked around for Mishraji, but no one knew him. I spent an hour unsuccessfully trying to find him and missed the view of sunset over the Ganga in the bargain. So I made my way to Dashashwamedh Ghat and got a room in a small hotel where I would be put up for 2 nights. Varanasi has a 7km long sweep of 100 bathing ghats which form the western bank of the river Ganga. Most ghats are used for bathing, but some are also used for cremating bodies. Dashashwamedh ghat is among the most sacred of them and it is believed that pilgrims who bathe here will have their wishes fulfilled. I freshened up and went to the ghat where the evening aarti was being conducted. After the aarti I sat by the banks of the river just admiring the majestic river, pious ghat and ardent pilgrims. There were people offering the pilgrims a boat ride in the ganga at night. I didn’t want to risk going for a ride at night on a rickety boat, so I made my way back to the hotel.
When I reached the hotel, it would have been around 9pm, but people were already fast asleep on the roads. I saw that the gates to my hotel were shut and locked with a heavy-looking chain and lock. I jumped over rows of people sleeping in front of the gate and woke up the watchman. He asked for my name, room no, identity and purpose of visit. After having answered his question, I was still subject to his curious gaze for a whole minute as if he was contemplating whether or not to let me in. Who would have expected such watertight security in a budget hotel like mine. Anyway, after some more cross-questioning he decided I was harmless and let me in. When I turned on the lights in my room, I saw that all sorts of creatures had made themselves comfortable while I was away - 2 lizards, 3 cockroaches and a few mosquitoes. I tried shooing them away but it didn’t seem to work, so I covered myself head to toe with a blanket, hoping that they would ignore me and continue to do their thing.
Next morning, I got up before sunrise and went to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is one of the most famous temples in Varanasi and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built during the reign of Akbar, it was partly destroyed when Aurangazeb built the Gyanvapi mosque at the same location. Today, the temple and mosque co-exist but this area has the potential to become an ayodhya-like issue. Hence there is a huge amount of security around this area. I reached the temple at 5am. They had just finished the maha-arti at 4am and opened the temple to public for darshan. I found a Panda, or rather the Panda found me. Panda is a temple official who can take you around the temple and explain its history, significance etc. As I walked around the temple, I definitely felt like it was a special place. My mind was calm, also because there were very few people in the temple at the time. At the end of my tour around the temple, the Panda asked me for thousand rupees as his fees for showing me around. I was completely taken aback. Then began a long process of negotiating with him. We finally agreed at 200 rupes since I convinced him I was a student and couldn’t afford to pay any more. The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. I came out of the temple to hear chanting at the river banks. This was the last day of my trip and I spent it sitting by the riverside.
Varanasi – Chennai
I had a return ticket to Chennai from Patna. Since there was no direct train from Varanasi to Patna, I took a train through Mulgalsarari and was on my way back home. This has definitely been one of my more interesting and fulfilling trips.
I bought a ticket to Varanasi at the station. Wise from my previous experience, I got into a general (unreserved) compartment. There was absolutely no place to sit. So much so that some people tied their dhotis (spare ones, not the ones that they were wore) to rods in the compartment and grills on the window and made hammocks where they rested peacefully. The train stopped at every small station and was so slow that I felt like I could run along the train and keep up with it’s speed. The only empty space I found in the compartment was the overhead luggage carrier above the seats. I climbed up and waited for someone to leave so I could pounce on their seat. This was a foolish hope since everyone was well-aware that once they got up, they would never get to sit again. Hence everyone stuck to their seats like fevicol ka mazboot jod.
Reached Varanasi at 3pm. Incidentally it is the oldest living city in the world. Nana had spoken to his friend in Varanasi (who was a teacher at the Sanskrit University) to help me with accomodation and getting around the city. I took an auto and went to the Sanskrit University. I asked around for Mishraji, but no one knew him. I spent an hour unsuccessfully trying to find him and missed the view of sunset over the Ganga in the bargain. So I made my way to Dashashwamedh Ghat and got a room in a small hotel where I would be put up for 2 nights. Varanasi has a 7km long sweep of 100 bathing ghats which form the western bank of the river Ganga. Most ghats are used for bathing, but some are also used for cremating bodies. Dashashwamedh ghat is among the most sacred of them and it is believed that pilgrims who bathe here will have their wishes fulfilled. I freshened up and went to the ghat where the evening aarti was being conducted. After the aarti I sat by the banks of the river just admiring the majestic river, pious ghat and ardent pilgrims. There were people offering the pilgrims a boat ride in the ganga at night. I didn’t want to risk going for a ride at night on a rickety boat, so I made my way back to the hotel.
When I reached the hotel, it would have been around 9pm, but people were already fast asleep on the roads. I saw that the gates to my hotel were shut and locked with a heavy-looking chain and lock. I jumped over rows of people sleeping in front of the gate and woke up the watchman. He asked for my name, room no, identity and purpose of visit. After having answered his question, I was still subject to his curious gaze for a whole minute as if he was contemplating whether or not to let me in. Who would have expected such watertight security in a budget hotel like mine. Anyway, after some more cross-questioning he decided I was harmless and let me in. When I turned on the lights in my room, I saw that all sorts of creatures had made themselves comfortable while I was away - 2 lizards, 3 cockroaches and a few mosquitoes. I tried shooing them away but it didn’t seem to work, so I covered myself head to toe with a blanket, hoping that they would ignore me and continue to do their thing.
Next morning, I got up before sunrise and went to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. It is one of the most famous temples in Varanasi and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Built during the reign of Akbar, it was partly destroyed when Aurangazeb built the Gyanvapi mosque at the same location. Today, the temple and mosque co-exist but this area has the potential to become an ayodhya-like issue. Hence there is a huge amount of security around this area. I reached the temple at 5am. They had just finished the maha-arti at 4am and opened the temple to public for darshan. I found a Panda, or rather the Panda found me. Panda is a temple official who can take you around the temple and explain its history, significance etc. As I walked around the temple, I definitely felt like it was a special place. My mind was calm, also because there were very few people in the temple at the time. At the end of my tour around the temple, the Panda asked me for thousand rupees as his fees for showing me around. I was completely taken aback. Then began a long process of negotiating with him. We finally agreed at 200 rupes since I convinced him I was a student and couldn’t afford to pay any more. The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. I came out of the temple to hear chanting at the river banks. This was the last day of my trip and I spent it sitting by the riverside.
Varanasi – Chennai
I had a return ticket to Chennai from Patna. Since there was no direct train from Varanasi to Patna, I took a train through Mulgalsarari and was on my way back home. This has definitely been one of my more interesting and fulfilling trips.
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