Varanasi was one of the most interesting places I have ever been. It's the holiest place in the world for the Hindu religious. The Ganges river flows through the city and the Hindus believe that bathing in the Ganges remits sins and that dying in the river ensures release of a person's soul from the cycle of its transmigrations.
I took an evening and morning boat ride down the river and everything is done at the river, from bathing, washing there cloths, dishes, praying, yoga and even cremation ceremonies. The Hindus are cremated in public after being dipped into the river 3 times, then placed on a pile of logs and cremated. It was really strange for me coming from America were death is such a behind closed doors and sad experience. In India I saw several funeral precessions coming down the small alleyways of Varanasi, and the family was not crying, even during the cremation, they believe if you cry the soul feels bad and attaches to you, then doesn’t fully make it to heaven. The first day there I purposely avoided walking past the burning ghat because I didn’t want to see the cremations happening. On my second day in Varanasi, with a guy I meet we walked by and I decided to watch some of the ceremony, it was shocking to me but an amazing experience I’ll never forget.
In my mind Varanasi was what I thought of India. It’s a very old city with tons of history and culture. Walking along the banks of the Ganges, I was able to experience all that amazing India has to offer.
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