Carol and Harold's India trip: November 19, 2010

Every time I decide that an experience is the highlight of our trip, something else more amazing comes along. And Friday morning, so far, is number one on the list. Our wakeup call was at 5 AM and we were rolling in the bus by 5:30 to return to the spot of the previous night. Whereas the action Thursday night was by the priests, in the morning, all activity is by the local people and pilgrims to the city. The Ganges River provides millions of Indians an important link to their spirituality. (A side note: the Hindus believe that there are four mothers –their Birth Mother, Mother Cow, Mother Ganges and Mother India.) Every day about 60,000 people go down to the Varanasi ghats to take a holy dip, wash clothes, and spread ashes in the river (for the dead who had been cremated elsewhere). We again took the rowing boat and passed the pilgrims bathing in the river and offering their sun salutations. We disembarked for a while to walk around and to experience the atmosphere; it was dizzying. There was so much activity, it was difficult to know where to look first. Perhaps, just sitting on a high step and observing was the best way to soak it all in. We collected a little Ganges water to bring home as a few drops ensure purity of body and soul. We rowed back to the starting point and walked through the labyrinth of alleys which date back to 1400 BC. Our bus returned to the hotel at 8:30 where we had breakfast and a short break.

We met again at 10:00 for a visit to the city of Sarnath. In the 6th century BC, Buddha came to Sarnath to preach his message after he achieved enlightenment at Bodhgaya. He preached his famous first sermon in Sarnath to a handful of followers. In the 3rd century BC, King Ashoka had magnificent stupas and monasteries erected as well as an engraved pillar which he used to spread the word of Buddhism. In 640 AD there were 1500 monks living in large monasteries; however, Buddhism went into decline and when the Muslim invaders destroyed most of the city’s buildings, Sarnath disappeared altogether. It was rediscovered when the British archaeologists started excavations and Sarnath regained some of its past glory. Today, the city is one of the four important sites on the Buddist circuit. We visited the Buddhist temple and museum there.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a place where they make silk brocade, an ancient art in Varanasi. The current owner is 7th generation. The pieces were beautiful and we bought one to use as a wall hanging.

The group met again in a hotel conference room at 5:00 for an hour of yoga. Like the yoga we did with CCS, it is different from the “American” yoga in that it concentrates more on your inner self than on cardio exercise. We ended with some meditation which was extremely relaxing. At 6:30 the group met with Sanjay for a recap of the entire two week trip. As a treat, he provided wine and snacks. And, as an extra special treat, he had a female hotel staff member come with 11 6-meter lengths of fabric and outfitted all the females in saris. We then all got a bhindi (dot on the forehead). There was much (drunken) laughter and joy as we approach the end of our trip (although seven of us are extending our trip and flying to the south of India). From there, we went to dinner (with yet more wine) where we had a wonderful kabob dinner. So, we are extremely full now and ready for bed!