Delhi is now behind us but let me continue where we left off and talk a little more about things we did there. The night before we left Delhi we went out to dinner with a couple that Safeena knows from work. Mr. and Mrs. Harish invited us into their home before going to the restaurant and there we learned that it is customary to have a few drinks before dinner, not afterwards. We were introduced to a nice Indian rum called Old Monk that tastes like butterscotch and we snacked on cucumber and tomato slices topped with a mix of Indian spices. Dinner at The Copper Chimney was rich, large, and delicious and it's always wonderful to have so many vegetarian dishes to sample!
That's one of the things we love about India. Restaurants are labelled either "pure veg" or "veg/non veg". People you meet will ask you if you are veg or non-veg which is a reversal of what we are used to in North America where it is assumed you eat meat until you state you don't. It makes eating easy, delicious, and varied. It's true what they say about India being a paradise for veg's.
On our last day in Delhi, we went to Old Delhi which is kind of like New Delhi but super-concentrated. The streets are more narrow, the stores are even more stacked on top of one another, and it seems like there are many more people. Anytime you want to stop and snap a photo, things change and you miss your chance. Everything seemed so chaotic... cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, cows meandering, cars honking, bicycle riders announcing their presence, and thousands and thousands of people making their way all makes for a very crazy scene. But it all seems to work.
That night we took an 11-hour overnight train to Varanasi where we are now. It is still in the same state as Delhi called Uttar Pradesh which is the most populous state in India. Nestled along the bank of the Ganges river, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world dating back to 6 B.C. and is now home to 1.2 million people. The Hindu god Shiva resided here and is said to have declared never to leave the place. Also, Buddha gave his first sermon on the outskirts of town. It is said that anyone who dies here is released from the cycle of rebirth and that this is a very important thing to many people here.
To escape the incessant heat, we went to a so-called air-conditioned theatre yesterday afternoon to catch one of the latest Bollywood films. Bollywood is India's answer to Hollywood, not surprisingly due to the name, and is an enormous industry here. The film we saw is called Devdas and is about what most of Bollywood cinema is about- unfulfilled love. From what we could make out, the tale was very similar to Romeo and Juliet with it's feuding families and beaucoup de watery eyes. Ne'er a kiss though, as kissing is not allowed in Bollywood. Everyone stays fully clothed and within their own personal space bubble despite the heighted melodrama). Best of all, you don't have to understand Hindi to enjoy Bollywood because these movies are more centred around singing and dancing, costume and sets (those who understand the language seem to love the story too though). I have to say, even by Hollywood standards, the sets were absolutely amazing and the costumes were remarkable and of course, we enjoyed the musical aspect of it because the choreography is purely Indian and the songs are quite catchy!
Another aspect of Bollywood is length. People really get their money's worth since they are epic films and Devdas lasted 3 hours with a short intermission half way through. Since it's release, Devdas has been hugely popular and tickets for the film have been nearly impossible to get. We arrived at the theatre 75 minutes early for the 3.00 show and people were already outside waiting for the box office to open at 2.30. There were four lines- one for women's balcony seats, one for men's balcony seats; one for women's dress circle seats, and the last for men's dress circle seats. We got into the more expensive balcony seats for women line and since it is outside, we sweated profusely. You learn so much about Indian people from doing a mundane thing like buying theatre tickets. Here you must not leave a gap between yourself and the person in front of you, even if it is only a few inches wide. We made the mistake and two women squeezed into line ahead of us but it was our mistake! When the small 5x5 inch windows opened, we made our way to the front and paid about 80 cents for each ticket. Not bad!
The theatre had fans, not aircon, but we managed to withstand the heat with our waterbottles close at hand. People brought their talking toddlers to the show and no one seemed to mind them gurgling throughout the movie while, on the other side of the theatre, young men shouted to their friends in far-off rows. The power went out, the sound was too fast for the picture, and an usher came by to collect the pop bottles during the film, but no one minded and we didn't either. It was just kind of fun to be there.
This morning we woke up at 4.45 to go out in a boat along the Ganges. There are numerous "ghats" along the river here which are steps leading into the murky water of the Ganges. The ghats all have names and the town's regions are named accordingly (we are in Assi Ghat because we are closest to that one). We went down to the water, guided by a porter at the guesthouse, and were handed over to a dark, stout man in a wrapskirt with a large belly and giant arms who would be our rower. He headed down to the water by his boat and quickly washed up in the river while we made our way behind him. We travelled by the town's many ghats and watched in amazement as the morning in Varanasi awakened before our eyes. Among the thousands of sites by the river we saw were lathered people bathing, others brushing their teeth with brushes or twigs, people swimming, men doing a lot of laundry, people cleaning up fresh cow dung with their hands and tossing it into the river while goats and dogs stoodby, sewage being dumped by the town's water structure, and on the "burning ghat" were a group of people preparing a dead person's cremation (which our guide insisted we see up close, he pulled up to shore so we could have a closer look though we were all clearly not as interested as he was). In many cases, people cannot be cremated (they can't afford it, or in the case of pregnant women or children under 12 - we don't know why) so their bodies are simply thrown into the river. This is usually done at night and we did not see this but we have heard stories of people seeing these bodies a river cruise like ours and while sitting on the ghat last night we swear that amisdt the lightning and bats flying overhead that we saw at least one body floating downstream.
The river Ganges has changed us.
Safeena left us today. She is flying back to Delhi and then onwards to Canada. Then, she is moving to NYC to attend Columbia! Isn't it weird the way the world works? It's a little strange without her (now we have to navigate towns and menus alone) and of course we miss her. Thank you Saf!
A few things about India we learned very quick:
1) In Delhi, beware of poop-shooters. While walking down the sidewalk in a more touristy part of town, Trish looked down to her shoe and saw a glob of poop there (she was the only one not wearing sandals). We found out from our guidebooks that this is a popular trick so that you will then pay the partner in crime to clean the shoe. Unfortunately, no one approached her to clean the shoe so that was strange but a leaf did the job until we got home to wash it off.
2) Always count your change. I can't tell you how often we have been short-changed.
3) Ignore everyone. Even though people approach you to ask you where you are from or what you are looking for, they want to take you to their shops to buy something.
4) One thing about more touristy places to eat is that instead of wonderful Indian sauces made of tamarind and pickle chutneys, you're given ketchup! They must think Westerners love it on everything. So it's always best to go to a place that is a little fancier and more tucked away.
5) Try not to touch the water of the Ganges river. If you need details, read above.
And that's it for today. Despite all the craziness, we really have been enjoying our time here for the most part. Trish, who has just come back from travelling all over Asia, said that India is surpassed only by China in difficult places to be. This means either the rest of our destinations will be an enjoyable cake walk, or we will find it comparatively boring. We'll have to wait and see.
Thanks again for all the posts, we love reading them!
tothesea,
k&m