Fascinating Varanasi, Awful Restaurant Experience, "Dead Body Burning", No People's Court

I loved the Holy City of Varanasi. Had I been a back-packer with plenty of time I would certainly have stayed there to take in the multitude of cultures, traditions, and it's unbelievably diverse population. Varanasi is extremely important to Hindus, Buddhists, and Jainists (whose priests go naked or wear masks to avoid inhaling organisms of any kind). One million Hindus make pilgrimage to Varanasi each year. And thousands come to die in Varanasi. The River Ganges is at the center of it all.

After arriving in Varanasi on February 28, 2007, we made our way to the site of Buddha’s first sermon in Sarnath. That Buddha first taught in the area is part of the reason that it is so revered. We witnessed Buddhists from all over the world chanting in diverse languages – often right next to each other, drowning each other out. Holy Buddhist sites are tranquil. While many religions preach peace, love and friendship, many also find ways to justify aggressive war, intolerance and, on occasion, violence. I don't pretend to be an expert in theology but there do appear to be some basic differences among major religions when it comes to how quick they are to resort to aggression and war. And for my next trick, I shall cut this thought off before it gets too controversial.

Following the visit to Saranath we made our way to the Holy Ganges River. Our guide and row-boat captain was an 18 year old Varanasian by the name of Babu – a good looking and very good-natured guy. Babu rowed us up the Ganges, pointing out the various Ghats that line the waterfront for miles. It’s an amazing sight – temple after temple high above the river, each with steps leading all the way down into the water. The steps are steep and continue deep into the water so that the water remains accessible regardless of tides, monsoons, etc.

That first evening we rowed up to the area where bodies of the dead are brought down to the water, wrapped in brightly colored materials. We witnessed the bodies being dipped into the Holy Ganges prior to their burning. Once the bodies are purified in the water, they are burned on pyres that rage by the Ganges. It is an unbelievable site to see the bodies being brought down in front of the families of the deceased (photography is forbidden so my pics are from afar). As with everything in India, nothing goes to waste. For example, we saw dogs gnawing on something in the smoldering remnants of older pyres - and I don't think they were rubber chew-toys. Our guide was narrating in his broken, yet charming, English: "Dead body burning take 3 hours."

After watching this incredible scene for a while we rowed back down to the Ghats and witnessed an Aarti, which is also performed along the Ganges. An Aarti is a Hindu fire ritual signifying devotion to god. In this particular Aarti, 7 men did their fire-ceremony in unison on stages about 40 feet above the Ganges.

It was a fascinating evening and was topped off with a walk back to our car through one of the busiest and most colorful markets I have ever seen. This is a market that deserves serious attention but we took it in quickly as our guide rushed us to the waiting car.

Back at the hotel (Taj Ganges), we decided to try the Indian restaurant. We ordered the Thali - a group of dishes that enables one to taste 6 or 7 of the specialties of the region. Much to our surprise, it was terrible. After tasting each of the dishes and figuring out that we didn't like a single one, I approached the maître d' and told him that the food was inedible. He apologized profusely and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later the chef came over to our table. He also apologized and then asked what was wrong. Talk about unpleasant confrontations! "Well you are a terrible chef. I can't believe Taj hired you. You should find another profession." That's what went through my mind. Out of my mouth came a whisper in Karin's ear: "U-n-c-o-m-f-o-r-t-a-b-l-e."

We retired early that evening as we were scheduled to be up at 5:00 AM so that we could make it to the Ganges for sunrise and the morning bathing and meditation that takes place every day. And make it, we did. We were back on the Ganges with Babu early the next morning. As we rowed by each of the Ghats, we witnessed people bathing, dunking, praying, meditating, washing, shmoozing, and drinking (Ganges water). Yes, drinking the water from the Holy (and very polluted) Ganges is a Hindu and Buddhist Mitzvah.

After about an hour on the water, the sky darkened and we found ourselves in a serious downpour. Babu handed us an umbrella but he was getting soaked. He rowed to the shore and we found some shelter by a building. When the pelting rain slowed down, we got back on the boat but the sky was continuing to darken and we knew that rain was inevitable. We started to make our way back to the starting point. It was drizzling by the time we got there and so we decided to head back to the hotel. Suddenly the skies opened up and and we were in a torrential downpour. We ran through the market, took brief shelter by some shops, and then ran some more. We made it to the car, bid Babu adieu, and headed back to Taj. And that was the end of a short but fascinating stay in Varanasi.

The drive to the airport was also interesting. As always, we were weaving in and out of traffic at high speed. Suddenly, our driver hit a motorbike. Our driver was pissed. He stopped the car and waived over the motorbike driver, who immediately pulled over. Our driver yelled at him angrily, raised his hand, and then struck the motorbike driver in the face. The motorbike driver seemed to accept the scolding. He lowered his head, uttered a few words, and then returned to his motorbike. Our driver got back into the car and said “no problem”. Rather bizarre.

And if I may take just one moment to complain... I really disliked our hotel in Varanasi. We stayed at the Taj Ganges . Terribly run. As I already mentioned, the food was abominable. And they had major wifi issues. I had their tech guy working on it for almost 3 hours the first evening but he never got it working.... which is part of the reason I am posting so late. The building itself is run-down and located far from the Ganges. If I ever go back to Varanasi I would probably stay near the Ghats anyway but I would never go near the Taj Ganges. Thanks for letting me vent.

And now for some Non-India News: Unfortunately, I will not be appearing on The People's Court. I did try to follow up with them but, due to an unforseeable turn of events, I am no longer able to participate. This is rather unfortunate because A. They were going to fly us to New York, B. I really wanted to see how they run the show, and C. I could have played a Plaintiff on The People's Court! I will be posting the story of what has happened with that lawsuit, and with The People's Court, as soon as the case is resolved.