Vara, vara nice. (Varanasi, India)

The Cycle of Life

Well, here I am in the holy city or Varanasi, a place where Hindus from all over the country come to die. Yesterday, we stood from a balcony and watched down below where bodies were being cremated. To the left of us in another balcony, there was a family looking on as they waited for their loved one's turn.

We were told the whole process of how things work, but I'll just give you the gist of it all. Basically, the body is wrapped up in orange and gold (gold, only if you're male) and then you're marched down to the Ganga river. The Ganga is a holy river, because they believe that the Shiva god has poured the river our from her head. This river is also where many locals or foreign Indians will bathe in the morning and pray while doing so. After paying for lots of wood to burn (you should see the piles and piles of lumber around here, not to mention all the cow shit!), the body is cremated for 3 hours. A handful of hay is taken and then lit from an eternal flame and then circled around the body 5 times, representing the 5 elements. It takes 3 hours, afterwards the family will spread the ashes into the river. Dead bodies of children under 12, pregnant women, holy men, lepors and people with small pox do not need to be cremated, because they are pure. Instead their bodies are just wrapped up and dropped into the middle of the river. Same with dead animals.

There's rumors though, that their are people of the highest caste named orgas (sp?) who will eat the human flesh that will sometimes float up from the water after the fish have eaten at the ropes.

This morning we got up early and took a boat along the river to watch the sunrise. During our little trip we saw a few men with fishing line, trying to catch some fish. Sushi anyone?

Very Nasty

I was told by my friend Gerry that "Very Nasty" is the nickname for this city. I'm pretty sure I know why, but at the same time, I'm not disgusted... go figure.

A long all the tiny streets, there are cows everywhere, just like all the other cities I've been in. Its seems that there are more here though. Due to all the cows, there's big plops or steaming shit everywhere. Watch your step, you don't wanna slip on it, you might land in one of the many piles of rubbish that's been swept up and put into a corner of the street.

The pollution here is like fog. Its quite hard to see very far because the air is so dark from all the car exhaust and the burning smoke. Not only is there the smoke from all the bodies being cremated, but from all the garbage burning. Much like the rest of India, all garbage is eventually burned. There normally not a designated spot to do it. Here, there, anywhere. You don't need a pit, just some kerosene and a match. I normally love the smell of a good burning fire, reminds me of camping, but I believe that the smell of burning plastic is up their with my list of bad smells.

Where the sun don't shine

Here's a bit of nastiness... This morning Emilie was using the toilet. The squatting kind, where there's a porcelin toilet on the ground with like a slide that empties into a hole where all your pee and shit goes. You then flush with a bucket of water.

Anyway, to make the story short, Emilie was doing her squatting business and her sunglasses were hanging from her shirt. I guess she squatted at the wrong angle and the next thing she knew, her glasses were sliding towards the dark hole. She hesitated a few seconds as she stood and saw her glasses sticking up out of the hole. Brave girl that she is, who loves her fake Gucci glases from Thailand, stuck her hand in and fetched them. Now that's nasty!