Varanasi – famous for the Ganges River and Music.
The flight was delayed and arrived at Lal Bahashastri airport late afternoon. It was the last flight in and they were closing the airport so everything was rushed. The pre-paid taxi counter told me it was Rs. 600 to get to my destination. As I watched him write up the receipts, he wrote the name and the destination of each passenger, ripped the page out of the carbon copy and then wrote the amount of the fare and handed the receipt to the passenger. I can only guess how much he will write on the original receipt and how much he will keep for himself as compensation.
Rahu Tourist Bungalow where I stayed was at Cantt near the railway station. After checking in, I visited Shivam Hotel next door and learned that it was Rs. 100 less for the same room. I learned later that Rahu is government owned (Tourism Department) and they have other sites in Sarnath and throughout Uttar Pradesh. Their rates are fixed and concessions are not allowed. So I shifted to Shivam the next day.
His Holiness The Dalai Lama and to visit the Ganges were the reasons I am here. I had a chance to tour part of the ghats and entered from the Raj Ghat one day and the Main Ghat the next day. Though I know of India’s filth and trash, I must admit that this is the place that totally zapped my energy. (I caught a bad cold when I arrived in Rishikesh.) It was a good thing that I had an empty stomach going there. There were cows as many as people and streets were all covered with manure. This is also the place where I’ve seen the most pendicants and beggars.
Residents by the river lived with herds of cows and carabaos that dominated the streets with their “dung” all over the place. I saw a woman with a basket transporting the dung in piles so she can shape them into patties with her bare hands. They are used for fuel and heat. The water was so polluted yet they bathed there. They also prayed there. Many offered boat rides. What will I do if I ever fell on one of those boats? For one thing, I can not swim big bodies of water, second, I will keep thinking of the filth that I will totally engross myself with visions of maggots, germs and bacteria crawling all over me. Sometimes my mind is more of my enemy when it goes through thoughts like that. That is why I meditate daily, to control my thoughts. The thoughts remain in my vision that it moves my body compulsing and nauseating.
In addition to the filth, while most people smoked, the people here chewed bitternut. They combine the green leaves with a nut, chew on it and they spit red. The ground has red splatter all over and when the Indians smile, their teeth are red like they Dracula just finished his meal. I believe even the crops are affected by the land they grow in. The fruits look stressed. I could not even eat their bananas as I did not see a single banana fruit that looked appealing. Papayas looked green on the outside and yellow (not orange) on the inside. Chickens were all squeezed in small cages. They barely had feathers and bare skin was showing while they are still alive. Now you see why for me it is really very unnerving here.
Moving on, Holy Varanasi may be, I know I will not come back here.
|
