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March 19 2010

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photographworks

Varanasi – Manikarnika Ghat

Buffalo In The Ganges

Buffalo In The Ganges

The river at Varanasi flows in a long gentle curve and is dotted on one side by temples and steps or landings called ghats that lead down to the River Ganges.

These photos are of buffalo resting in the water of the Ganges and on the sandy bank of the river.

Buffalo On The River Bank At Varanasi

Buffalo On The River Bank At Varanasi

Except for the evening puja or purification ceremonies that take place up and down the river, the lazy relaxation of these buffalo echoes the peaceful quiet here.

The exception is Manikarnika ghat, which is always at work.

At this ghat there are logs stacked everywhere in piles seven and eight feet high. The wood is dark brown, hacked roughly to lengths of about five feet. In the street above the ghat the wood is stacked against the buildings.

There is more wood in piles by the river and more arriving all the time in open boats that are moored by the river bank.

Slight-built men are stepping barefoot over the logs in the boats, each one loaded down with a pile of logs across his back. They make their way up the short sandy bank, past the fires and up to the piles of wood to replenish them.

They offload their logs and make their way back to the river while other men built the stacks of wood in an endless cycle.

There are ten or twelve fires burning in shallow ashy pits. Each one is a cremation.

After being bathed in the Ganges by their family members, the bodies are wrapped in a piece of cloth and placed on top of the pyre, where they are doused in butter oil and sandalwood dust.

It takes 350kg (750lbs) of wood to burn a body properly and the cremation takes about three hours. Doms – men from a class of untouchables who work at the funeral ghats – turn and move the logs to ensure the burning is complete.

The ribs of men and the hip bones of women rarely burn away to nothing. They are collected by the doms and deposited in the Ganges early in the morning each day.

The obligation to light the funeral fire falls on the closest male family member.

In the street above, in front of the small temples that dot the street, these men are taking off their clothes and being dressed in white sheets so they can perform their duty.

The man goes first to a small nondescript fire that is in the entrance to a temple just behind the fire pits. It is said that this fire has been burning continuously for three thousand years.

He makes a bundle of reeds taken from a large pile of reeds that fills a recess, and he lights his bundle from the fire.

Then he walks down to the body on the pyre, walks around it a number of times and then lights the fire. His last job is to take water in a clay pot from the Ganges, which he throws over his shoulder back onto the body.

He does this five times, and the final time he throws the pot itself. It breaks and that ends his relationship with the deceased.

There are hundreds of men at the ghat. Groups of men are leaning on railings or standing erect. Some of the groups are family members gathered together and waiting their turn. Others are just there watching.

There are no women here except for foreign tourists. Even the wife of the deceased stays at home.

There is smoke everywhere and a steady trickle of ash.

There are dogs asleep in the warmth of the ashes remaining from old fires. There are cows wandering through and buffalo with their herders prodding them through the crowds.

There are goats standing on the stacks of wood looking for something to chew or wandering around or standing alert.

By the awning that covers the table where the clay pots are laid out, there is a group of seven men with ages ranging from middle aged to early twenties. One makes a back and forth movement with is hand and arm like a snake: Another grabs his crotch. They are laughing uproariously.

The river is broad and there is more or less nothing built on the opposite bank – just a wide sandy bank receding into the distance and then a line of trees. The scene looking down on the fires and the river is peaceful and uninterrupted.

Two or three hundred people are cremated here each day and cremations continue every day of the year.

A few hundred yards south of this ghat is another smaller burning ghat. It is a simpler affair and from a distance looks simply like bodies being burned on a beach.

Cremation purifies the sexual, so only married men and women are cremated.

Holy men, children, those who are unmarried, those bitten by a snake, and those who are pregnant are weighted down with a stone and lowered directly into the Ganges.

For Hindus, it is good to die and be cremated in Varanasi.

Cremation must take place within 24 hours of death, so trucks are sometimes seen coming into the city from other towns, with the body lying in the open back of the truck and the relatives standing around the deceased, as we saw yesterday morning.

Just by the Manikarnika Ghat is a temple that is sinking slowly at an angle into the sand and mud. Just behind it is the burning ghat.

Vishnu Temple Sinking Into The Mud

Vishnu Temple Sinking Into The Mud

This Morning
This morning on the road leading towards the Manikarnika ghat, I saw a hand cart with a body lying in it, bedecked with orange robes and marigold garlands being pushed at a fast trot by ten or more men.

Alongside was another cart, laden with logs. It was being pushed by more men, their hair and faces covered in red powder paint. The men were chanting – singing almost – as they rushed along.

Varanasi – Manikarnika Ghat is a post from: Quillcards

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  2. Cardinal’s Wharf, London
  3. A Surprising Sadhu In Haridwar In India
  4. Delhi: Getting Into Town
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Tags: India photography blogsherpa Manikarnika ghat Varanasi

March 04 2010

March 03 2010

photographworks

A Surprising Sadhu In Haridwar In India

Sadhus In Haridwar

Sadhus In Haridwar

The world is full of contrasts. Never is this brought home more strongly than when the contrasts cut across established ideas. For example, I have a certain image of sadhus.

A sadhu is someone who has dedicated his life to achieving liberation. Within the Hindu religious system, this means escaping the otherwise endless cycle of life and death.

Liberation is achieved through meditation and contemplation of what lies behind the impetus of creation.

It also involves going on pilgrimages and carrying out certain devotional actions such as bathing in the River Ganges at propitious times. One such time is during the Kumbh Mela (’complete’ or ‘great’ meeting) that is taking place in Haridwar now.

Millions of devotees are housed in temporary camps outside Haridwar at the moment, and will make their way to the banks of the Ganges in the center of Haridwar on the next bathing date, which is on March 15.

Sadhus often wear orange and peach-colored clothing, which symbolises their renunciation of the commitments of ‘normal’ life.

There are other recognisable signs, such as long hair in dreadlocks, often wound round on top of the head.

In the back streets of Haridwar there are streets filled with ashrams. They are a kind of boarding house for travelling sadhus who follow this mystic path. Sometimes the guests sit watching the comings and goings on the street.

Ashram In Haridwar

Ashram In Haridwar

A glimpse inside the open doorways of the ashrams reveals a courtyard and often a small temple set in the back of the courtyard. Sometimes the view through a doorway reveals something even more enticing, as here:

Back Street, Haridwar

Back Street, Haridwar

Sadhus are often on pilgrimage – travelling long distances across India. Of course they take buses and trains, but very often sadhus walk long distances – even many weeks journey sometimes.

Looking at them as they walk, they look as though they have walked a long way in their travels and will walk a long way more.

Their belongings are stripped down to bare essentials, though carrying a metal rod or spear as a devotional object – as many do – seems to go against the idea of travelling light.

I have seen sadhus on horses and sadhus on old scooters. With a little mental stretching of the elastic of my imagination it is easy enough to fit them into my (slightly broadening) concept of what a sadhu is.

Never before, though, have I seen a sadhu on a very modern motorcycle.

He passed me coming in the opposite direction on a small street in Haridwar. I was so surprised by the sight of him that I turned and followed him a few yards where he stopped at a copy shop.

I waited and waited and eventually he emerged. As he set off and I took several photographs, I gave him a small wave of ‘thank you’ for the opportunity to get the shots. He gave me the tiniest of agreeable nods before setting off down the road.

Sadhu In Haridwar

Sadhu In Haridwar

A Surprising Sadhu In Haridwar In India is a post from: Quillcards

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Related posts:

  1. Dangerous Drains and A Magical Cultural Evening In India
  2. Clothes Washing And Wedding Celebrations At A Ghat In Udaipur, Rajasthan
  3. Relaxing in Rajasthan
  4. Impressions Of Bundi
  5. The Jagdith Temple in Udaipur

Tags: India blogsherpa Haridwar Kumbh Mela sadhu

March 02 2010

photographworks

Looking Back At Bundi In Rajasthan

An Afternoon In Bundi

An Afternoon In Bundi

Keeping The Big Picture In Mind, Westerner Though I Be
There I was in the bathroom in the haveli (a large and ornately decorated traditional house) in which we were staying, trying to figure out how to transfer enough hot water with my water jug on to my hair to wash it for the first time in more than a week.

Now readers might think I was dealing with a ‘deprived’ situation in a remote region of India, and it’s true that the town of Bundi in which we were staying is poor, semi-rural, and semi-agricultural.

However, that would be thinking like a Westerner since the family who own that haveli as they have for generations are amongst the town’s privileged few.

So modern-day luxuries like hot water aside, this home had all the markings of great comfort: There were quite a large number of spacious rooms congregated around a cool courtyard of sorts surrounded by columns in the central part of the house.

In this town with unpaved roads where the vast majority of people have tiny, ramshackle shops and one-room hovels, such material comfort is an unattainable dream.

Chaff And Firewood
How most of the people live was evident only a few streets away from the privileged haveli.

For example, one day David spotted a woman separating the chaff from the wheat right outside her front door on an unmade road.

Another day we observed this woman walking down the town’s main drag with firewood balanced on a large aqua ring of cloth on her head:

Firewood

Firewood

The Local Hair Salon
Speaking of hair as I did before, here’s how the locals get spiffied up:

Haircut

Haircut

One sees such one-room hair salons dotted all over the country.

A Different Kind Of Style
One can also see wandering religious men called ’sadhus’ on the streets of India, like this man here who had his face and hair covered in ashes as he tried to collect money to put in his golden bowl:

The Golden Bowl

The Golden Bowl

A Local Resident
As we walked on further after exchanging nods with this sadhu, here is a woman we spotted wearing a lovely sari as she called to a friend from outside the door of her home:

Yellow Sari

Yellow Sari

Delivering The Milk, Indian Style
As one street led to another, we then noticed this man (wearing a typical turban found in Rajasthan) who was delivering milk on his bike to individual houses.

To deliver the correct amount, he uses the jug with the long handle to decanter milk from gold and silver jugs that are fastened on to his bicycle, as you can see in this photograph:

Milkman

Milkman

The Effect Of Climate Change On Milk Prices
A litre of milk currently costs 10 rupees (about 10 pence per litre or 8 cents a pint) in Bundi, which we were told is very expensive. The cost of milk in other parts of the country that are not near arable land can be more than twice as much as this.

We were told in Bundi that in recent years the monsoon rains have been failing, as we have seen ourselves around the country where water levels look a good deal lower than usual.

Not enough water means that the grass has not been growing well, which means the cows don’t have as much as usual to eat and ultimately this has meant less and more expensive milk is the only thing available.

Creating Cloth Of Many Colors
Just as milk is a staple in the country, so too is the availability of beautifully crafted cloth and clothing.

Even in a small town like Bundi, textiles are created as we saw when we came upon this elderly man:

Weaving

Weaving

Sitting on the floor as he worked with his hand loom, his tiny shop was festooned inside and out with the colourful shawls and saris that he had made by hand. When we talked with him, he told us that he has worked on his hand loom for decades. He was also proud to emphasize the quality of the cotton that he used.

All in all, we could see what a painstaking, exacting art it is for him and others who work on such hand looms as they create such items by hand.

The Face Of The Deserted Palace
After exploring the streets of Bundi, our haveli offered a welcome refuge from the heat of the town. The haveli we stayed at was overlooked by the palace, built by His Highness Rao Rajaratan Ji ho who ruled Bundi from 1607 to 1631, and situated just a couple of hundred yards up the steep hill behind the town. Now deserted, this palace juts out over the hills.

Bundi Palace

Bundi Palace

This photograph shows the steep path leading up to the palace and higher beyond the palace to the fort whose walls run along the top of the range of hills.

Palace Road

Palace Road

Current Residents Who Also Live Next To The Palace
Aside from the family who owns this haveli where we stayed, the place also has these other local residents who were living right outside the mesh wire protection that surrounds the haveli:

Monkey Walk

Monkey Walk

Look Before Leaping?
As you can see from the previous photographs, the other residents are actually macaques who are Old World monkeys.

Although of course I have seen monkeys in zoos, I have never seen monkeys in the wild as we have here in India. And from our vantage point in the room at this haveli, I could see the monkeys from behind as they leapt off from the ledges and walls that surround the building.

It was fascinating to watch them jump, and their positions reminded me of the way that some people who cannot swim sometimes jump into water with their arms and legs supporting their eventual fall into the water.

Managing Macaques
Although David and I were excited to see macaque families with parents and little ones living right outside our room with only the wire mesh that the haveli owner had put up between us and the monkeys, the reality for the haveli owner and his family was similar to what we heard throughout Bundi: Such monkeys can cause havoc by stealing or wrecking people’s food, clothing, and other possessions.

For this reason, we saw several people throughout the town (including members of the family who owned the haveli where we stayed) use air rifles around the animals to scare them off.

The Sobering Reality
Local people are wise to keep these monkeys at bay since according to current statistics, both wild and captive macaque populations generally have high rates of the herpes B virus infection.

Macaques are found all over India, often at close proximity to people just like they were at that colorful Bundi haveli.

So reading this statistic was sobering to me – and more than a bit sad since the monkeys are decidedly interesting characters to observe.

Looking Back At Bundi In Rajasthan is a post from: Quillcards

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Related posts:

  1. Impressions Of Bundi
  2. Relaxing in Rajasthan
  3. Clothes Washing And Wedding Celebrations At A Ghat In Udaipur, Rajasthan
  4. Turbans In Rajasthan
  5. A Memorable Hotel In Udaipur

Tags: India Bundi Rajasthan
photographworks

A Memorable Hotel In Udaipur

frieze
The Gangaur Palace Hotel in Udaipur is a converted haveli, that is, a former residence of a wealthy family. It probably dates back two or three hundred years.

The building is made of stone and built around a courtyard. The pillars that support the floors above are made of a dense grey stone carved and decorated in a very old Indian style. All in all, it oozes character.

We paid 1,000 rupees (about £12 or $20) per night for the room, which is about as much as we have paid anywhere in India.

We had a room on the top floor. It overlooked Lake Pichola and had a large bay window with a cushioned seat and a cotton-covered bolster on either side. The top of each of the windows in the bay was cut out in a fancy curved design so that the bay had an ‘Arabian Nights’ feel to it. It was very cosy, comfortable, and inviting. The curtains filtered the light and we could read and lounge and watch the lake and the town below.

A delicately painted frieze ran around the bay window and also around the high ceiling and the door that led into the room.

The way up to and down from the room was a bit more problematic. It was reached by steep, narrow, stone stairs painted red and set off against white stone walls.

The first time we went up, we joked about stopping for tea half-way up to recover before the final push to the top. After a couple of days though, we were more or less trotting up and down the stairs.

At our floor at the top of the building we then had to negotiate the narrow balcony that ran around the courtyard. This was the problematic bit. The wall of the balcony was very low.

By ‘low’ I mean well below waist height for me because I am over six feet tall.

This meant that being aware of exactly where we were – four floors above the stone courtyard – was always in our minds as we went to the room.

On the other hand, we were just a few steps aways from the rooftop restaurant which could serve up most dishes from curries to pancakes and omelettes and they could always bring something up from the German Bakery on the ground floor.

India is a tough country in which to travel, with huge variations in living standards. Some parts of Delhi, for example, look like the aftermath of war. This makes the romance of the city of Udaipur, with its architecture, lake, and comparatively high standard of living, all the more poignant.

Now that we have stayed in a number of hotels in our travels around India, we look back on that room – remembering the light streaming in – and think how lovely it was.

A Memorable Hotel In Udaipur is a post from: Quillcards

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Related posts:

  1. Clothes Washing And Wedding Celebrations At A Ghat In Udaipur, Rajasthan
  2. The Jagdith Temple in Udaipur
  3. Havelis, Udaipur, and Saris: Musing About Romance This Valentine’s Day
  4. Relaxing in Rajasthan
  5. Dangerous Drains and A Magical Cultural Evening In India

Tags: India Udaipur

March 01 2010

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