I spent 2months in india, went all over, stayed in about 20 cities.... im pretty experienced traveler. IT WAS FUCKING HARD!
This was the most difficult, disgusting, sad, frustrating, place ive ever been. It was the biggest culture shock in my life, which is good, this is what i what. It was also the most beautiful, life changing, fulfilling, journey i have ever taken. It humbled me big time.
This was not a vacation or a trip. This was a pilgrimage so to speak. 24 cities in 60days. You could have said i wasnt even on earth and i was in some other dimension or far away distant planet with a different species and i would have believed it. Its hard to explain.
The highlight of the journey and maybe my life was Varanasi. This is on the river ganges, this is where they cremate the dead on the ghats of the river. Its also one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth. I think i met my guardian angel, the virgin mary, God?, some sort of supreme loving and protecting entity.
I was sitting on the ghats watching the cremations...dozen plus bodies burning all around me. Members of the caste system at all levels doing the work. The lowest in the water with sifts, sifting the bones and ashes for gold teeth and jewelery, and anything else they could use, it was surreal and filthy. Dead bloated bodies, both human and cows floating in the water. raw sewage...people are wadding thru it, washing themselves, washing their clothes, and i just couldnt believe how the human body can adapt and survive so of the most horrendous circumstances ive ever witnessed. How resilient are we....its incredible.
So, im sitting on the ghats. There is only one other western looking person in the area. An older 60yr + lady. She comes right up to me and sits down. I felt like a rush of warm and live and kindess, i dont know...the sun was going down, it just felt so calming and right to be at that spot at that moment, next to this woman. No words are spoken. I look down and she has the same shoes on as me. Sanuks. They arent like nikes or reebok, they are kinda obscure. I make a comment like hey we have the same shoes. Her response "Its all i wear, they are so comfy" well that has been my exact response to when people ask me about them. Ok odd.
I ask her where she is from whats her story. She ends up basically explaining the plot to the julia roberts movie, Eat, Pray, Love. Well thats odd too, because that was one of the movies i watched on the plane ride over. Her name was Danielle and i go by Daniel. ok coincidence. Then another western looking gentleman comes walking towards the ghats....with a camera in tow (you are not suppose to take photos of the cremations and the area, purely out of respect - i wanted to just to document where i was and what i was seeing, but i abstained). He gets right in there and is snapping photos. The locals wont tell you not to take photos, but its suppose to be a known known. She says excuse me, he must go. Gets up goes to the camera guy and without words but a simple hand gesture shooed him away from the area.
She came back down and sat down with me. She asked to hold my hand, she said she was going to pray but i could meditate or just be still with her since i wasnt religious. I did not tell her i wasnt religious. weird. i prayed. i got teary eyed, and cried, i have no clue why. She got up gave me a hug and walked away up the ghats and into the crowds of people.
Almost as soon as she left an indian man came up to me and asked if i had a cigarette. I gave him one, he sat next to me and started talking. He said he had been watching me for a while and since i was alone he wanted to know if i had any questions about the procedures and cremation rituals. He explained somethings and then i asked if he saw the old white lady shoo the camera guy away, and he is like what are you talking about. He then proceeded to tell me that he watched me come solo, sit down for the last like 30mins...no other western person was in the area, and no one was next to me. WHAT THE FUCK.
Yep. i have no clue what occurred that day but that moment with that lady is going to stick with me for the rest of my life, it freaks me out, and makes me smile at the same time. Something magical happened.
I will go back again.