Editor’s note: Sam’s last (for now) installment from India takes us to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi on the Ganges. It definitely makes me excited to visit in November! For more of Sam’s work, click here to visit his index page.

“This is real India,” my guide proclaimed. “The country is big and diverse, but Varanasi is where all of India comes together; it is the most authentically Indian city.” I thought to myself, “I definitely chose the right city to begin my India trip.” Varanasi is arguably the holiest city in Hinduism. In a way it is ironic that the City of Death was on my bucket list. Located on the holy Ganges River, for many Hindus, it is their goal to visit Varanasi and bathe in the waters of the river once in their lifetime, and if they are able to, they hope to die, be cremated and have their ashes scattered into the river there. It is said that someone who dies in Varanasi breaks the cycle of reincarnation.

Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for over 3500 years. Much of what has kept Varanasi is its traditions circulating around Hinduism’s holiest river, the Ganges. As you go through Varanasi, you get the sense of its holiness. Hindu priests, some of whom are completely covered in a white paint and dressed in orange robes, sit beneath banyan trees, while cows walk down the middle of the street. As you approach the riverbank, these sights become more regular, and finally you find yourself staring at the mighty Ganges River. On the far side of the river, men travel along the bank on horseback and camel; all of that area will be underwater come the monsoons. The riverbank is adorned with buildings that were palaces hundreds of years ago; today many are hotels, which you will spot macaque monkeys climbing on. The riverbank also has dozens of ghats, steps leading down to the Ganges River that are used for ceremonial purposes. While ghats are often associated with cremations, only two of Varanasi’s ghats are used for this purpose, while the rest are used for ceremonies and for bathing.

In the ghats, you will see priests offering blessings to the faithful and gleeful pilgrims bathing in the water and collecting it in jugs to be used for significant life cycle moments back home. Personally, I had no desire to go into the Ganges River as it is highly polluted with raw sewage; safe water is supposed to have 500 units or less of fecal matter per 100 milliliters of water, the Ganges has 4 million units of fecal matter per 100 milliliters of water. Still, knowing the significance, I stuck my pinky into the river and then doused it for several minutes with hand sanitizer. In the past, when people could not afford cremation, they would throw bodies whole into the Ganges River, a practice that is now outlawed. While I was a bit nauseated watching people swim in such filthy water, it was moving to me to see how meaningful it was to them, and knowing what my own faith means to me, I can imagine that I would do exactly the same should I be a devout Hindu.

As the sun sets, the ghats take on a festive atmosphere with thousands of Hindus gathering around for the Aarti ceremony. In this ceremony, seven Hindu priests come forward and offer prayers, flowers to a statue of Shiva, and in perfect sync, choreograph a ritual of waving smoke and fire as they give thanks to the Ganges for being a source of life. While the Aarti is free to attend, my guide showed me a balcony where, for about $3, I was able to sit and watch the hour-long ceremony and see it at a better vantage point. The Aarti is a deeply meaningful ritual for Hindus and when I told Hindus that I was planning to visit Varanasi, they said their dream was to witness the Aarti ceremony.

The next morning, I arose early and was picked up at 445 so that we could get to the Ganges River for sunrise. In Varanasi, people rise early and there were already plenty of Hindus at the river bathing and priests blowing into conch shells as they began morning rituals. While most tourists took motorboats, my guide wisely recommended that we hire a rowboat so that we could enjoy the tranquility of the Ganges and I could hear his explanation without the disturbance of a motor. Floating up and down the Ganges River was a dream come true, having seen images of the city and the river as a small child learning comparative religions. Our rowboat stopped at the main ghat for cremation. Cremations run on this ghat 24/7/365 with approximately 200 cremations being performed here daily. As you walk up to the ghat, you will see massive piles of tree trunks and timber that will be used to burn bodies later that day. The owners of the cremation service charge people on a sliding scale to ensure that they can afford cremation for their loved ones. With demand increasing, the government has created a massive center and complex next to the ghat as a museum, and is in the process of building an electric crematorium to expedite the process. These decisions have been met with controversy as they are an affront to the traditional methods that have been done for thousands of years and have resulted in the displacement of those who lived there on the riverbank.

Nearby the ghat is the holy Golden Temple of the Hindus, built in 1780. In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was formerly the member of parliament from Varanasi, oversaw the completion of a major renovation of the temple. The word on the street in Varanasi, which adores Modi, is that Modi has had a gripe that the Gyanvapi Mosque, built in the 17th century on top of a former Hindu Temple, was larger than the Golden Temple, underlying the continued tensions between Hindus and Muslims in India. Today, 45,000 Hindu pilgrims visit the Golden Temple daily, but it is only open to Hindus. The reason, a local explained to me, is that they did not want Muslims to enter, but it was not politically correct to say, “No Muslims allowed,” so only Hindus are allowed.

Following the boat ride and going past the cremation ghat and Golden Temple, I explored the bazaar in Varanasi, which is already bustling at 7am. Varanasi is in particular known for its silk products and many women love to buy their saris in Varanasi, not only because it came from the holy city but because of their renowned silk. The city is a great place to buy souvenirs. One place that I went was the Ganga Learning Centre shop. To try to break the cycle of poverty, a nonprofit was started in 2012 that has a couple dozen women making clothing from cotton and silk, with the proceeds of the sales of the garments going to the center to educate their children. Currently, there are 25 women and 27 children at the center. The shop also sells tea, incense, and fragrances from a nearby ashram, much of which was destroyed by governmental projects, to help sustain the ashram.

While my visit to Varanasi was far too short – I was there for less than 24 hours – and I would have loved to have visited the ruins of Saranath, located 12 kilometers outside of town, where the Buddha taught his followers, it was incredibly worthwhile. Every time I visit Jerusalem, I think of the privilege of that experience to be in a city that my ancestors dreamed of going to and that is holy to so many people. Varanasi gives that same sense of holiness, and undoubtably, billions of people have dreamed of one day visiting this city and being on the Ganges River. If you get the opportunity, do not miss out on experiencing this most special and holy place.

I recommend my guide, Vimal Pathak. He can be reached by website and WhatsApp (+91 93353 57962).

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