“Ayodhya mathura maya kashi kashi avantika…” As a child I memorized a wide abundance of Sanskrit shlokas – this one appreciating the holy Indian cities being one of them. I didn’t actually bathe in the Ganga but I 
still hope my mere visit to Kashi canceled out some of the paap I have accrued J Okay sarcasm aside, this place is holy. Take an hour morning walk on the ghats and feast your eyes on pooja after pooja after pooja. I arrived early Friday morning and went straight to the south most Assi ghat to begin a Ganga boat ride. It was super relaxing and served as a nice introduction to Varanasi. I got off at one of the burning ghats and walked most of the way back to Assi where I met my friend Jolie. She’s lived there for a year+ so she knows all the ins and outs of the Benaras. She first took me to the Nagari prachari sabha (where she looks at archives) – this organization was part of the big push for the nagari movement so critical to Hindu nationalists. I walked around for a bit after that and had to take a lot of detours as many roads were closed for Jummat al vida. I got to see namaaz overflowing out of the masjids and into the streets which was a rather neat sight. There’s something quite powerful about unison. I visited several of the mand
irs including the famous Vishwanath mandir which was quite fun as all the access/exit points are through convoluted gullies. The lassis are also damn good in Varanasi.
In the evening I went to check out aarti at Dashashvamedh ghat. It was extremely touristy and the whole thing seemed like a rehearsed performance really. Between the mechanical spectacle and camera flashes, the emotion was completely missing. I played my role and let a diya out into the river. For dinner Jolie and I went to this obviously exclusive joint for foreigners. Btw there are so many foreigners in Benaras that there are classes and different joints are frequented by different classes. There are the hippie backpackers who stop by for a week, the studious researchers/artists/etc who stay for longer, the permanent ex-pats, etc. etc. Assi is like a modern mini village of foreigners. I’m so glad I got to hang out with Govinda baba – a Canadian gentleman who threw his passport in the Ganges thirty years ago and never looked back. There are several of these character types who claim a spiritual “Hindu” authenticity with the following elements (give or take a few) a)Hindufy their name b) keep extreme hair (ladies – short and gentlemen – unruly) and c) and wear orange. Power to them I suppose.
We spent the next day in the inner folds of Benaras – the tiny, intricate gullies – each so unique. On our way to the manikarnika ghat we passed a gung ho Bhagat Singh inspired communist rally. Speaking of, I’m really trying to work on getting rid of my American democratic notions of communism. Onwards to the cremation grounds. I really cannot go into detail here. The experience was extremely moving. We watched from start to about 30 minutes in. I slowly watched fire melt away at a corpse and this sight/the environment was immensely thought provoking for me. Life is queer.
