We head to Assi Ghat at 5:15am for the dawn Aarti ceremony. Marlene and Jim decide to sleep in and have a relaxed day. The sunrise ceremony is very similar to the sunset Aarti we saw at Dasawamedh Ghat last night. A group of girls starts the ceremony with a chant-like song. Seven Brahmin priests on platforms then go through a series of slow, synchronized movements using various hand held objects: silver chalices that release smoke, tall pyramids of small lamps, flaming chalices, feather fans and something that looks like a horse tail. The priests then walk down to the Ganges River and bring back water which is sprinkled over the crowd gathering around them.

 

After the ceremony Garima takes ourselves, Jasmine and Paul to the river where a boat waits to take us for a sunrise cruise on the Ganges River. The mist hangs over the river giving Varanasi a whole new look from the sunset cruise the night before. Our boatman turns off the motor and we quietly drift down the river to Manikarnika Ghat with its smouldering cremation pyres. A small boy rows his large boat out to us selling various souvenir items. Jasmine buys some postcards to reward him for his efforts.

 

 

Seeing the city from the river at sunrise and sunset and watching the Aarti ceremonies are a definite must if you are in Varanasi.

 

After the boat cruise we return to Open Hand Cafe for breakfast. It’s delicious as usual. 

 

 

Paul heads out on his own and shortly after, Jasmine, John and I explore the ghats.

Homeless people are still sleeping on the streets, bodies covered from head to foot with worn blankets or comforters.

We pass the street side laundry services, removing wrinkles with a big old fashioned iron.

A large pack of dogs bark at a monkey sitting on the roof of a stall as a man feeds it bananas. Meanwhile another dog lies sleeping on the road as the traffic zips closely around him.

On the ghats, we pass a large group of men gambling. They were there yesterday as well.

Something different is going on at one of the ghats…at first we believe multiple cremations have happened. As we watch we realize they are shooting a movie. Four fake pyres have been created as part of the scene. The director speaks Hindi but then shouts out ‘Action’ in English and on cue the pyres are set aflame and a fight scene commences. The director then shouts ‘Cut’ in English and the scene ends and they start preparing the next scene.

Today John is the popular one for selfie picture requests and handshakes. He think it’s his Tilley hat that is the attraction.

A snake charmer sits on another ghat and plays his flute while a cobra bobs his head out of the basket. The venom has been removed from this poor snake. I do not support this, its inhumane and creepy.

As we approach the main cremation site, Manikarnika Ghat, we notice piles and piles of wood waiting to be burnt. Large scales sit in front of each wood vendor. Wood is sold by weight to make up the cremation pyre. Sandalwood costs the most because of its fragrance so only wealthy families buy it for their cremation pyres. As usual, things are busy here: fires are burning, cows and goats are milling around and people are mourning. When the bodies are finished being cremated (about 2 1/2 hours) the ashes are placed in the Ganges.

We walk around the cremation ghat through some narrow streets to reach the ghats on the other side. Scindia Ghat has a temple half sunken into the river. The nearby streets have vendors selling various funerary items like flowers and fabrics. 

 

By this time I’m tired so John uses his offline map app (we use maps.me which is great) and we brave the narrow mazes of the market area. After a few wrong turns we find the Blue Lassi where we shortly run into Paul.

Today’s lassi choice is blueberry pomegranate. So yummy. In the 30 minutes we spend enjoying our lassis, twelve funeral processions pass the shop. The chants alerting us that they are about to pass by.

 

 

We attempt to find the old Kashi Vishwanath Temple. A newer temple by the same name is on the grounds of the Banaras Hindu University. The old temple is one of the most important Hindu temples in India and is dedicated to the god Shiva. Garima told us that Hindus are supposed to visit this temple at least once in their lifetime along with also immersing themselves in the Ganges. A large area of construction has blocked off the narrow alleys the app wants us to follow and we keep retracing our steps trying to find the temple. We decide to give up and start looking for a tuk tuk back to the hotel when we stumble across the temple entrance.

 

As foreigners we are not allowed to enter the temple on our own but are directed by a police officer to a Visitor Centre about 100 metres down the main road in an orange building. 

 

Several tour books we read say that no foreigners, only Hindus, can go into the temple. At the Visitor Centre we discover that if we pay 600 Rs per person, we can enter and the price includes being guided by a person we think is a priest or some religious official as he is in priestly clothes. You must provide your passport as part of the ticket booking process (you must have your e-visa stamp in the passport or have the paper visa with you) which you get back when you pay the entrance fee. Any possessions like phones, cameras, water, backpacks must go into lockers (included in the fee).  Our priest gives us each a shawl to wear over our shoulders and leads us out into the busy street traffic back to the temple entrance.

 

Our guide/priest provides no information, his role appears to be to get us into the temple and show us where to go once inside.  He’s all business- no smiling.

Security at the temple is very tight. Police are everywhere and armed with military rifles. We get the most thorough pat down search I’ve ever seen. They even open up John’s wallet and search it. The high security is due to the importance of this temple and a terrorist bombing here in 2010.

Once inside we remove our shoes and socks and then must wash our hands and feet. Our guide directs us to a small temple open on four sides. Into each opening a crowd of devoted Hindus are pushing and shoving with their offerings to get into a small worship area. It’s quite intense and I start to feel claustrophobic. Fortunately we are pushed through quickly and I pop out one of the other openings in the surge of the crowd.

Next our priest takes us to another much less crowded worship area where we enter a small temple and are instructed to touch the lingam (Shiva phallic symbol). Then we are seated in another area facing the first temple where our unsmiling priest blesses us, I think, with paint marks on our forehead and ties a string around our wrist all accompanied by his chanting.

Within twenty minutes we are done and back at the Visitor Centre collecting our things. We get to keep the shawls. The priest briefly looks like he won the lottery when we all give him a tip. 

 

Although the experience was short with no explanation of what was happening I would definitely recommend it… for a brief moment we were part of what is a very special spiritual pilgrimage for millions of Hindus.

 

From the Visitor Centre we brave the scary road traffic to cross the street. Walking down a super busy and loud street, I feel panicky walking in all the rush. Finally we reach the ghats and after a long walk up we get back to our hotel. My hip is throbbing.

 

 

After a few hours nap, I’m ready to explore some more. Paul, Jasmine, John and I head to the sunset Aarti at Assi Ghat. A sacred cow joins the worshippers. Near the end of the ceremony we are all given flower petals. Everyone goes down to the Ganges and throws them into the water.

We meet the rest of the gang at Vaatika Pizzeria which overlooks Assi Ghat. The pizza is good but the apple pie with ice cream is exceptional.

Throughout the trip, we have been having many discussions about the Coronavirus. Marlene and Jim are looking to cancel their Asian cruise which they were to start after their India tour. Paul is also concerned about his plans. India currently only has 29 cases, much less than Canada, however the concern is visible in the increasing number of people wearing masks.