Enlightening Pilgrimage of Indian Heritage

A Wish That Came Through

(From the Travelogues of Mathew D. Kunnappilly)

VARANASI

Wednesday, September 27.

I had made no reservations between Gaya and Varanasi because I did not know which way we might be traveling, how we might be traveling, and how long we might be staying at each place.

When I reached Patna I realized the distance to Varanasi was about 270 km. I did not want to travel that far sitting in a bus. So the option was to take the train. The first train, Panjab Mail, leave Patna at 5.10 AM. The next train will be after 11 AM. The running time is about 41/2 to 5 hours to Varanasi. The problem was that we had the reservation on the night train from Varanasi to Lucknow on 28th. I cannot miss that one because I had reservation to Delhi on the 30th morning. At this point I cannot make much changes. I had only two days and one night left and I want to see Varanasi and Sarnath.

So I decided to leave by 5.10 AM train.

We were at the station by 4 AM. That day the train was late by two hours. I tried to find someone who speak English but could find any. The train arrived at 7 AM and left at 7.10. Luckily it happened, the person sitting next to me was a social worker going to a city (I do not remember the name) half way between Patna and Varanasi. I had some one to converse with until he left.

When the train left one station, someone said to me that the next station would be Varanasi. All of a sudden I was anxious. I was anxious to take that first look at that timeless city Varanasi. I was anxious to find what impression that first look Varanasi would give me. I was anxious to see the oldest, continuously existing city in the world. I was anxious to see the holiest of all holy places for close to a billion of humanity. I was anxious to see that city in which some people wish to die while most people wish to be alive. I wish to see the water in a river that can wash away the stain of sins from the soul of man. I was anxious to see that tiny spot on earth to where the largest number of human beings made pilgrimages over the centuries. I was anxious to see the soil that stained the sole of great men in history. I was anxious to see the city that humbles the mighty.

Finally, the moment came.

Some one offered me a widow seat. I took my first look at Varnasi through that window from the train that was crossing Ganges on the bridge. It was a clear, sunny day, close to noontime. The sight was great.

At Varanasi, river Ganges make a 41/2 miles gentle curve. The city of Varanasi is on the upper curve of the river. One peculiar feature is that the side is solidly built from the water level up, with Ghats, steps; buildings, big and small, tall and short, in infinitely different size, shape and form, white washed, and brightly painted. It looks like a Tiara is placed on that upper arch of the River Ganges.

The opposite side of the river is lush green forest and at a distance you can see some buildings.

As soon as you cross the bridge is Kasi station. I was under the impression that that ancient name was completely taken off of all the books. But that station is still marked Kasi. Train stops there for only a minute or two. The next station is Varanasi Junction, about 5 minutes away.

We got out, went to the station canteen, which was clean, and had a nice vegetarian lunch. Next job was to find a place to stay.

We came out of the station. An young man, 16 or 17 years old came up to me and asked if I need a cycle rickshaw (by this time I was a convert to cycle rickshaw or Tonga over Auto Rickshaw because of its scarcity) I said, I do and told him that I wanted to go to a clean lodge, not a hotel, just a lodge. He will take me to one. "How much?" I asked. "50 rupees" he said. There was an old man standing next to him. "Fifty rupees? Sir, I will take you to a clean place. Ten rupees" he said. "What if I don’t like that place?" I asked. " I will take you to another place" " Still ten rupees?" I asked again. He said yes. I agreed. Then the young man said "I will take you for five" I said," First you want 50. Now you can do it for five. No. I gave this man my word. Even if you do it free I do not take it" and I left with the old man.

He looks in his sixty’s but may be only fifty or fifty-five. He speaks enough English to communicate understandably. On the way he said, " Sir, be careful. In this city, 95 % of the people are cheaters. Only 5 % are good people." I replied, " I had been to places where 99% are cheaters" He did not respond. I told him that I wanted to see the important places that day (Then only I could go to Sarnath the next morning and return on time to catch the night train to Lucknow) He said he would take me. I asked him how much he would charge me. He answered "Whatever you like" I replied " That is not an mount. I am not the one who is doing the job. You are. Tell me what would be the fair amount?" He gave me an amount that was not even half of what I expected. I agreed.

He took us to a lodge that was clean. I did not expect to find that clean of a place in Varanasi since I was not looking for a star hotel. In fact this lodge was behind a star hotel, Hindustan International, I believe the name was. I told him that we would be ready by 3 PM. He said, he would be waiting outside. And he was in clean cloths.

He took us first to the main Ghat, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Ghat. On the way the old man told me not to take any guide with me. He said that they not only charge too much but also make it more difficult for me to see things freely. I took the old man’s advice.

It was the after noon. The Ghat was not crowded. On the way down to the river I noticed a man lying on the ground. He was covered with a thin sheet of cloth. Some coins were tossed on that sheet. First I thought that that was a dead body and people were throwing money to cremate that body. So I took some money from my pocket and was about to throw it when I noticed the sheet that was covering his body was moving up and down on his chest where his heart is. So I watched him for about 5 minutes. For all intense and purpose that was a dead body. His eyes and mouth were closed. No sign of breathing. Flies were on his eyelids, nostrils, years, and on his lips. There was not an iota of flesh on his body. It was a skeleton held together by the skin. His veins were collapsed.

Except for his heartbeats he is a dead man. He had no injury. He did not look very old or was sick. He may be 40-45 years old. He had no long hair or long beard. Either others laid him there to die, or he is in Savasana. (Dead body Yoga)

The water is dirty and the surroundings are messy and not very clean. Boats were lineup in the water.

Next, I visited the Kasi Viswanath Temple. For all its fame, it is a small temple. You cannot even see the top of the Temple from the street.

The alley, you cannot call it a street, leading to the Temple is narrow, not wide enough to walk for two people shoulder to shoulder. The lane twists and turns. Several places it branches off into different directions, but there are signs, "To Temple" If you are careful, you should not get lost. The ground is stone paved. On both sides are small, small shops, with thin walls separating them, selling anything and everything, except meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. This walkway leading to the Temple is at least ¼ mile long.

I saw the Temple and it was not a big Temple.

I had gone and see one more Ghat. (I do not remember the name.)

Next we visited the Monkey Temple. Yes, it is under a Banyan tree and the tree is full of monkeys. You better not fool with them.

Then we visited the Tulsi Manas Temple. It is an ultramodern building. It was built in 1964. This is a two-story building; perfectly clean and well kept. It is called Temple but there is no place to worship in the conventional sense.

The entire Ramayanam is written in Sanskrit on marble slabs on the walls with illustrations. There is a moppet – Tulasidas- reading the Ramayanam in Sanskrit non-stop, like the mechanical Lincoln at Gettysburg.

It was getting late. We decided to stop and return to the lodge. Only two other places I had the interest to see, Mother India Temple and the Benares Hindu University. I have a friend who is a graduate of that school. I postponed it for the next day.

We returned to the lodge. I paid the old man and told him not to go back to the street that night, go home and have a good night’s sleep. Then, come back in the morning at 7 AM to take us to the bus stop to go to Sarnath. He agreed and left.

It is not necessary for me to explain or describe Varanasi. You all can get any number of books written by very able authors. I spend only a total of 10 hours at Varanasi and I cannot claim that I had seen the whole city. I did not come here to study the city in detail.

All I wished to do is to tell you what I have observed, rightly, or with mistakes.

I did not find Varanasi a very dirty or filthy city. This may be because of three reasons. First, there may be a concerted effort from the authorities and the public to keep it cleans as much as possible. Second, I read in many places, many times, how dirty a city Varanasi is and my expectation was so gross that the mess and the dirt cannot match it. Thirdly, I was coming from Gaya. I cris-crossed the heart of the city a couple of times. I had seen some very clean areas. The Ghats, the riverfront and some other areas are messy and dirty.

I felt no strong offensive odor in the streets.

Many streets are very narrow. That should be expected in a city this old.

Varanasi does not appear an ancient city as Gaya does. There are ancient, old. new, and ultramodern buildings and structures, all inter mingled. So the feeling you get is the combination of all these. Of course, you can tell it is an old city but you do not get the fear that it may collapse on you.

Varanasi is called "The City of Temples" Some book says that there are 2,000 or more Temples here. This is little misleading. There are many Temples. But a good majority of these are not real Temples. At the base of almost every tree, especially Banyan trees, are stone and concrete built. Some of them have small shrines on with an idol and an oil lamp in it. Many have grottoes with a Deity and an oil lamp. Some may have just an oil lamp. In front of many houses you can see the same kind of setups. These are not Temples in the conventional sense but just prayer stations.

Next - Sarnath