Varanasi is Benares is Kashi

The oldest living city in the world has the modern name Varanasi, but Prem called it Benares so we followed suit. When we met Prem in Pokhara, he insisted we visit him in Benares when we returned to India. The city had been on our short list for a few months, and Prem's invitation was just what we needed to make the trip. We were excited to have someone to show us around the ancient city since we only had a few days to spare. Prem's artistic pursuits in music and film, combined with his passionate approach to life made him an excellent city steward.

In Benares, over four thousand years of continuous inhabiting creates thick history and thin veils between the physical and spiritual. The guide books report that visitors either love or hate the city, and that it's the quintessential Indian experience. Our three day visit hardly scratched the surface, but we did catch a glimpse of the relentless ebb and flow of this holy city.

We arrived dog tired from Nepal with our new Australian travel buddies Lee and Steph. Although we had been warned not to trust anyone in Benares, we followed a restaurant owner after breakfast to a nearby hotel. The Pooja's seven stories, complete with roof top restaurant, provided a great place to practice yoga and watch the ghats from above. Ghats are huge concrete stairs that lead into the Ganga River, and there are dozens lining the river in Benares. Walking along the ghats was an easy way to prevent getting lost in an otherwise confusing maze of a city. Prem invited us to dinner in Assi Ghat where he lived. Assi Ghat was the last southern ghat in the city, and we were towards the north end of the ghats. Thus began the first long ghat walk of what would turn into a half dozen during our stay.

To walk the ghats, one must be prepared to see, smell, hear or avoid stepping on virtually anything. From one ghat to the next, there is no clear pattern or path to follow. Each step must be calculated to accommodate a high stair, a broken boat, a pile of dung, a sleeping cow, a stream of water or most shocking, a burning body. The burning ghats were mesmerising. Photos weren't allowed, and depending on which locals were hanging around them, women weren't either. Bodies seemed to burn at different rates after watching for an hour or so. We discovered there were different grades of wood depending how much money was used for the cremation. Sandalwood burned fastest. We saw piles of wood hauled in around the clock, and everyone seemed to have a different job to keep operations running smoothly. The strangest part was seeing the body turned over in the fire and then the final unburned bone fragment get carried to the river.

Our few days and nights flew by. We walked the ghats several times a day, people watched and explored the city.

We toured Benares Hindu University, the largest university in Asia. Over five square kilometres, the campus is unmanageable on foot. We hired a bicycle rickshaw to take us to the museum, the Hindu temple and a few of the buildings.

The cycle of life and death seemed closer and faster than ever in Benares. Prem witnessed a funeral procession met with a wedding procession while walking down an alley a few days before our visit. There was hardly room for the two parties to pass. The irony of each element on the Ganga, whether a filthy cloth covering a child or a sparkling pooja offering, contrasted so rapidly that it was hard to take it all in. Truly an overwhelming sensory experience, the moment we saw something that made us smile, the next corner would reveal a jaw dropping gasp.

We noticed this goat outside our hotel nudging through the bathroom trash from our room. A few hours later, the trash had disappeared (thankfully).

There is nothing on the other side of the Ganga because it floods during monsoon season.

This old temple is also underwater during the monsoon.

We spent our evenings playing and listening to music at Prem's flat. He had some funny wigs and played air drum quite well.

:)

Thumbs up on this crazy town!