बाबा के बैठक में बिछी चटाई , बहार रखे खड़ाऊं (At the meeting place of the wise man, there is a floor mat and outside are kept the slippers)
मिलने वाले के मन में असमंजस जाऊं या न जाऊं (There is a doubt in the mind of a man who so dearly wants to meet this wise man. And he is so caught up by this dilemma of whether to go in or stay back)
माथे तिलक आँख पर ऐनक, पोथी खुली स्वयं से बोले (The wise man has a holy mark on his forehead, spectacles on his eyes, there are holy scriptures in front of him and he talks to himself saying...)
आओ मन की गाँठे खोलें (Come lets untangle these knots of the mind, Come lets untangle these knots of the mind.)
आओ मन की गाँठे खोलें |
These famous lines from Aao Man Ki Ganthen Kholen by our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee naturally comes to the mind when one thinks about Banares; now known as Varanasi. I had been planning on visiting this sacred land back from college days, but never had a chance to do so until August this year. We had been watching a few documentaries on Banares (I prefer to call this ancient city by its old name) and also there has been a mention of this place in the book: Aghora: At the left hand of god by Robert E. Svoboda. Since that time me and my friend Approv (Whom we lovingly address as 'Pondy' - where "pondy" is a slang for hindi porn literature) had been so hooked on visiting this place. But the movie Masan really cemented our wish to visit this place into action and reality.
I wanted to visit this place chiefly because of the following 3 reasons:
1) The funeral grounds - Where one can witness death in its crude and naked reality.
2) The age old culture and traditions
3) The mighty Ganges
The Funeral Grounds - Life and Death!
There are 2 funeral ghats at two extreme ends of the Banares coast lines. In between these two funeral ghats, spirituality, business, religion, philosophy and everything else that comprises life exists. It is a geographic symbolism to the very fact of life; death. It is between this wheel of life and death that life exists.
We stayed close to Raja Harish Chandra Ghat because we were told it is cheaper there. We did not mind the place being very close to one of the funeral ghats of Banares; rather we were happy. It was also a place closer to Baba Kinaram Sthal and Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. Don't forget to try the famous Balushahi of Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple. It comes all wrapped up in environment friendly boxes made of bamboo shoots and is being packed with lots of Tulsi leaves.
We spent a lot of time on Harish Chandra ghat trying to realize the impermanent nature of life in the grossest manner possible by looking at the procession of funeral pyres next to us. Also we realized that there is a separate ghat for upper class and the rich of the society; Manikarnika Ghat; then there is a ghat for the lower class and poor of the society; near to which we were staying; called Raja Harish Chandra Ghat. We have not spared even death from this ugly human division of high and low, upper and lower. Life and death existed in this place at such close proximities. Such existence gives you an altogether different perspective in life which is so hard to find in Cities and concrete jungles of a metropolitan. Life moves at a different pace in these places and have a bittersweet taste to it which simply enriches the taste buds of your life experiences. I am sorry I don't have any pictures of these two ghats as we wished to honor the deceased and the privacy of the near and dear ones.
The age old culture and traditions!
"A Scene From Assi Ghat"
Banares is a city known to be founded by Shiva and is considered to be one of the oldest cities in India. From Buddha to Adi Shankracharya to Tulsidas to Guru Nanak jee everyone has some relation or the other to this place. Such is the heavy weight, age old history of this place. You will find here from different traditions to different cultures all amalgamating here in one stream of life.
This diversity is not only limited to people, traditions and cultures, but you can see its presence in varied food options available from sweets to 'Chaat' (very spicy and piquant snack) to drinks. If you are in Banares, you should let your tastes buds run wild and go crazy. Try everything to anything. Especially the local chaat, pan (Indian Mouthfreshner) and thandai. This place is a heaven for foodies. Especially for people who love street food.
Godowlia Chowk is the place where you can get amazing Thandai. You get this drink either plain or with Bhaang. Banarasi Thandai is prepared with melon seeds, cream, milk, rose petals, saafron, almonds, sugar, cashew and saunf. Thandai in Banaras is also available with a dose of bhang, if you’re up for trying. Bhang consists of dried leaves and buds of the female cannabis plant.
"Shiva Thandai - Godowlia Chowk"
The Mighty Ganges:
From Rishikesh to Banares I had always been fascinated with rivers. Sitting on a river bank and watching the river flow in juxtaposition with my flowing thoughts had been my favorite past time. I can sit on a river bank for hours at a stretch without getting bored. Observing the river with the flowing thoughts in my mind, sipping tea once a while, and reading a few pages from my book has been what I was there for, majorly.
"Chai, Book and The River! A Still From Narad Ghat"
I wanted to take a boat trip as I saw people taking it, but I let that thought pass and did not care to transform it into action. It was too much trouble. But I loved watching these boats passing by. Sometimes full with 15-20 people and sometimes only with couple of people on the entire boat. It was as if looking at them from the other side of the world and they being placed at the other end.
"Boat Parking"
Probably these boat trips could give you a different feel of the ghats and the place. It can let you look at things from a different perspective. It will cost you somewhere between Rs. 150 - 400 (depending on the boat size and group strength) to get this perspective. I saved it for a later visit when I comeback to the place. One should always leave a thing or two undone to keep it as a reason to come back that is my modus operandi when visiting a place.
"The Boat Ride - Break On Through To The Other Side"
There is something for everyone in this city. From someone as introverted as me to someone very gregarious and outgoing. This is a place which will not be bothered to interfere with your true being. It will let you be what you naturally choose to be....
"A Sage, Sadhu, Taking A Holy Dip In The River"
“जिन खोजा तिन पाइया, गहरे पानी पैठ, मैं बपुरा बूडन डरा, रहा किनारे बैठ।” (Those who try, they get something or the other. Just like a hard-working diver goes deep into the water and comes up with something. But there are some poor people who are sitting on the shore with fear of drowning and can not find anything.)
So please be the diver, go out and visit this ancient city of India, lovingly called as Banares and formally known as Varanasi.
