Varanasi pt.2

Here are a few bits about Varanasi that I didn't put in the last entry.

After I wrote my last entry on Varanasi, Ryan and I went back to wander around the ghats some more on the banks of the Ganges. We saw something that is hard to describe but is a part of every day life there. We saw the cremation of about 10 bodies.

This ritual of cremation is very sacred in the Hindu religion (and also because where would you bury billions of people?). There are different levels for different castes. Obviously the highest castes get the highest landing. The elderly are in draped in gold fabric, the women in red, and men in white. They do not burn the following people: those who have been bitten by a snake, pregnant women, small children, and I forget the other two...oops!

Widowed women had a tendency to throw themselves onto the pyre and cry a lot, so they are banned from watching the cremation. Men are not allowed to cry. I, myself, found the whole thing fascinating and strange, but the part that made me want to cry was knowing that men can't. We had to watch from a viewing station above the ground. Supposedly they burn 200 bodies per day.

It was an experience I will never forget.

After that we went to catch our bus to the Nepal border, but I will tell you about that in the next entry.

p.s. I forgot to mention that when we were in Agra at the train station, I got to sit with these men playing wonderful music while I waited for the train. So fun! Also, when we were in Jaipur we actually stood right next to the current Maharaja without even noticing until he was walking away...stupid tourists!!