Back from vacation

It was good, hectic, but it feels good to be back at home in Bangalore. We saw quite a few places actually - Delhi, Varanasi, Allahabad, Haridwar, Mussorie, and Jaipur, so it had them all - big cities, a hill station, history and holy places. Unfortunately for me, the day I was supposed to leave for Uttarkashi for my trek, there were massive rains, snow & landslides around that region, blocking off most of the hills there. So had to can that...very sad. Maybe next time.

For those interested, here is a brief summary of the places.

The holy cities - Varanasi, Allahabad, Haridwar

We began with Varanasi, also known as Kashi, or Benaras. Situated on the crescent shaped left bank of the holy Ganga, Varanasi was one of the ancient seats of learning in India, is said to be a compound of the names of two streams, the Varuna and the Assi, which still flow in the north and south of the city respectively. Closeby is Sarnath, where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. Here he revealed the eight fold path that leads to the attainment of inner peace, Enlightment and Ultimate Nirvana (we didnt have time to visit this place). The most important places to visit here are the ghats, where pilgrims have a ritual bath and perform pooja, sacred rites for departed souls, etc. There is also the Kashi Vishwanath temple, considered one of the most sacred shrines around here. The original temple was destroyed by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb which was later restored by Rani Ahilyabai of Indore in the 18th century.

There is an incredible amount of mythological history and signficance to Varanasi, and it has been considered for centuries to be a holy place. See more here. This place has been revered, worshipped, glorified in almost all of Hindu mythology, religion & tradition, visited by the saintliest of men, including Adi Shankaracharya, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, and more recently, the likes of Paul Brunton.

Anyways, Varanasi was quite frankly, a very confusing place to me. On the one hand is all the mythology and religious references I have come across in the context of Varanasi, and on the other hand was my actual experience here. What amazed me, or rather, shocked me, was the uncleanliness of the city, especially of almost all the places closest to the temples & ghats. I cant imagine how any sane set of people can dirty their surroundings to such an extent and have an uncaring attitude about it. I dont know how the city has managed to exist without having had a major outbreak of an epidemic or such. It is rather sad that we Indians manage to do this to ourselves.

Some of the nice places here - Benares Hindu University (this has one of the IITs too), Birla Temple (this is inside the BHU campus). It is also famous for Benares silk sarees, and apparently they are quite good.

Allahabad

We then moved on to Allahabad, mainly to make a visit to the holy sangam, or the confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and the now invisible Saraswati. The meeting point is known as Triveni and is especially sacred to Hindus. The earlier setlemets of the Aryans were established in this city, then known as Prayag. In addition to the religious significance of the Sangam, Allahabad, past 1857 became the centre of the war of Indian Independence. Pt. Nehru was born here - in fact the place he lived in - Anand Bhavan is now a National Heritage site, and a nice museum has been set up here. Most of the buildings in the city, including the Allahabad University, are from the colonial era, clearly showcasing the mix of the western, Mughal & Indian architectures. Unfortunately, not all buildings seem to have been preserved well.

The Sangam is a beautiful sight actually, one can see the calm Yamuna flowing from one side, and mixing with the slightly more turbulent Ganga. Apparently the river Saraswati has now long since dried up, and is also called Guptagamini.

Beware of the locals here who ferry people to the place of confluence - they are major cheats, thriving on unsuspecting tourists like myself. I ended up paying over Rs. 600 for a 5 min boat ride and the dip.

I remembered a few lines of Pt. Nehru, himself an athiest, and yet wanted his ashes to be immersed in the Ganga. Quite typical of Nehru at his sentimental, eloquent best:

My desire to have a handful of my ashes thrown in the Ganga at Allahabad has no religious significance, so far as I am concerned. I have no religious sentiment in the matter. The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial
memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing and ever the same Ganga.

Haridwar

Haridwar located in the foothills of the Himalayas, represents the point where the Ganga reaches the plains. Haridwar is an ancient pilgrimage site, held in reverence for centuries. The Chinese pilgrim Hyuen Tsang who visited India in the first millennium CE, describes Haridwar as Mayura, on the eastern banks of the Ganges. Legend has it that Bhagiratha, brought the Ganges into the earth, and into this point where his ancestors were burnt to ashes by the curse of the sage Kapila. More on this story here. Haridwar (and Rishikesh) represents the gateway to the Himalayan pilgrimage shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath and is also the site of celebration of the Kumbha Mela, once in twelve years.

Personally, I liked Haridwar the best of these religious places. Hardwar decidedly has an ambience of its own. It was quite moving seeing the Ganga Aarati - the Ganga Aarti, which is celebrated at 7 pm each night, is a spectacular sight, when the aarti ceremony is performed at all temples in Haridwar at the same instant. Offerings of lamps and flowers are made to the river immediately following this ceremony and it is just beautiful to watch thousands of miniature lamps float along the river. It was also a great feeling taking a dip in the powerful currents of Ganga early in the morning before sunrise.

More to come soon on Mussorie & Jaipur...