holy cow

Varanasai is indescribable. I'll do my best--

Mourning families bring their dead here to cremate on the banks of the Ganges River, which is, we gather, something like a highway to heaven. It's the holiest place for Hindus, and pilgrims flock in greater droves than foreign tourists. It is also one of the oldest-continuously inhabited cities, and looks as much. You can't drive anywhere near our hotel, which is down on the banks of the river. Instead, from the airport our cab left us on a bustling, carnival-like street, choked with shoppers, shopkeepers, smoke, and animals. We were given directions to 'go up there to that church and take a left,' which led us into a maze of alleyways, all chock full of shops selling saris, sweets, bangles, music, beads, and pan (which everybody chews incessantly - it's like tobacco on steroids). The buildings rise up three or four stories each - sometimes coming so close that the alleys have room for only two people to pass shoulder-to-shoulder. At every corner, we ask for directions, and finally find our way to the hotel.

I should say something about the animals. They're everywhere - the cows climb steps as well as humans and they bellow from great heights, much to our surprise. Monkeys climb on everything and we learned the first day (not without amusement) that it's mating season. Goats forage in the gullies where everybody throws their garbage, and dogs beg at many shops. It's also, apparently, puppy season. The city is horribly dirty, and the cows wander aimlessly, eating also from the garbage, which doesn't seem to do them much justice, as there is more nasty cow crap here than I've ever seen.

It's been wonderful to have two fantastic traveling companions, Sarah and Colin (Sarah's friend, who conveniently speaks Hindi). Yesterday we took a short trip to Sarnath, the place where Buddha gave his first sermon after receiving enlightenment. It's a neat place because there are a lot of monastery ruins, and a number of active monasteries. Many buddhists have built temples in the style of their home country here - so we went to a Chinese temple and a Japanese temple, at which we roped ourselves into an hour-long ceremony that involved a lot of drumming (us included). This seems to be a theme - we found ourselves in the middle of another religious event today at the Golden Temple, or Kashi Vishwanath temple, built to honor the god Shiva. It's heavily guarded - we had to leave most of our things at a police checkpoint before we were even allowed near. Hindus fear a Muslim attack because of attacks on both sides - Hindus razed a mosque that they believe was built on a holy site by the Mughal invaders, and there is a sort of detente between both sides now. Hundreds, maybe thousands of police maintain a presence in the city to encourage peace. Anyway, once inside security, we were informed that we were not allowed inside as it was 'not a tourist site, only for worshippers,' by some of the guards. After sitting with the police/guards for a few minutes, Colin convinced them that we simply wanted to do a puja (like a blessing), and since Hindus believe that their god is everyone's god, and our god is their god, we were allowed in, with the typical, 'ok, you go, and when you come back, you sit with us (the six guards) and have chai.' A man who said he was the head priest ushered us through four or five places at which we were to kneel, repeat after the priest, touch something (a horn, a Shiva lingam (look it up), the base of an altar). At each point we were instructed by our 'guide' to pay some large sum of rupees, and then he took us to the next. The temple was crowded - people praying everywhere, lots of things happening at many locations, and there was a total swirl of action happening around us. By the end, he had fleeced us out of maybe 1500 Rs - a huge sum of money for them, but maybe $35.

On our way out, someone asked us what we thought. Colin replied that it was wonderful, but very expensive, at which point the man got very angry, and said something in Hindi to the police who had agreed to let us in. Sarah and I sat to the side while Colin negotiated for our money back. Police officers/guards descended, and the police chief got very angry at the guide/priest who had taken us through. One by one, the people to whom we had given money came out and talked to the police chief, and it slowly came out that the guide was the culprit. He went back in and came out with pretty much all of our money, to all of our amazement. When foreigners are treated unfairly and a good cop finds out, real action can happen, we have learned. But really only for foreigners, unfortunately.

It was unbelievable to see the whole thing unfold. So much of what happens around me goes over my head, either because I only understand a small part of the culture, or because I don't understand what is being said. Tomorrow we are to meet the police chief, who will take us to his wife's school, and then he and Colin will have lunch - Sarah and I have to catch a plane, he was sorry to hear. There are so many layers of interaction, of belief in fairness, of ethos for treating a guest, of really every part of life that are new, and I feel as though I am scratching the surface.