VARANASI. That has got to be the most insane trip I've ever been on. I've been on quite a few vacations with friends and family but this was nowhere close to being what I expected it to be.
Now I knew from the time we had planned this, that I might not be able to accomplish all that I would like to on the trip. The reason for this was that out of the 6 women who were going(my mum, three aunts, a cousin and myself), 4 were going for the sole purpose of shopping, 1 was equally inclined to shop and get some sightseeing done and 1 wanted to just explore the city without entering any shop that sells sarees. The one divided between the two activities was my mum and the last one happened to be me. Add to this the fact that the only other person in my age group LOVES shopping and that we've never been super close. We don't hate each other; we've just never interacted much.
So, we were scheduled to leave on the evening of 11th December, the day of my last exam for the semester. I wasn't particularly happy about this because like most people I wanted to go out with friends post the exam. What made me even more unhappy was the fact that I would have to miss a dance class. If you're one of the very few people who know about and read this blog, you know me well enough to know how much I hate having to miss a dance class. But I made my peace with both these things. But as soon as I got out of college, I got to know that our train got delayed and was scheduled to leave 10:30 p.m. Because of certain 'logistical' issues, I still couldn't attend class but I managed to meet a friend for a steaks lunch. And then there was another delay. Our train was scheduled to leave around 4:30 a.m. With barely 2 hours of sleep we were halfway to the station when we got a message that the train would now leave at 7:30 a.m.! This game was no longer any fun. But finally we left for Varanasi at 7:35, after an 11 hour delay.
The talk during the journey mostly revolved around the details of an upcoming wedding in the family(hence the shopping trip). But for me it was about catching up on some much-needed post-exams sleep. What struck me most when we arrived in the city around 11 p.m was the bustling road. It could have been 6 in the evening for all anyone knew. This was pretty much it for the first day. Well this and a really bad car ride from the station.
Our day began quite early on Saturday. My aunts had done their research and zeroed in on a few shops. We landed up in the first one before most shops had even opened. And then it started. The looking through innumerable piles of sarees and picking only a select few. This could have been bearable had I not been expected to drape sarees to help in the selection process. A couple of hours later the owners, who are relatives of a friend of my cousin's, told us that they'll get some more stock for us in a few hours. Truth be told, I think they just needed a break. But did we? Absolutely not. That is, except for me. Then onto another place. I can't call this one a shop. It was more of a cross between an office and a maze. Spread over 3 floors it had 7-8 glass-panelled rooms on every floor, each stocked with something different. There were secret rooms and corridors and too many racks lining the corridors. And a reception. This one was followed by a quaint little shop which isn't very easy to spot. By this time I was mentally too tired to even be annoyed by all the shopping. It was 7 p.m and we were right back to the first shop to pick up our stuff. Before this day I never fully understood the depth of the dialogue from Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayenge "Haath thaka diya tabse sariyan dikha dikha ke". And then the high point of my day. We were served 3 different types of chaat that one finds only in Banaras. Aah! That is all a hungry, tired, bored, street food lover needed.
Finally the shopping ended and we had to rush back for dinner before catching our train. Miraculously we had some time to spare so we decided to visit the most famous temple in the City of Temples. The approach could really use some work. It's a winding alley that is poorly lit, wet and full of dirt and muck. But once you get to the temple it's a different story. I'm increasingly becoming an agnostic so my reason for being there wasn't completely religious. I love monuments and architecture. And this temple seemed to radiate the very idea of Kashi as we think of it. The city that's been around forever and has it's own niche somewhere between the fast evolving metropolitan cities and the still rustic towns. The covered courtyard, cold stone paths and multiple idols in the Kashi Vishwanath temple all seem to radiate a certain strength that is only built over time. We happened to be there in time for the last pooja of the day, which was absolutely worth attending. A large group of people chanting at their loudest would stop to periodically ring all the bells in the temple continuously. And there were way too many bells to even estimate. That 15-20 minutes long ritual was unbelievably invigorating.
Post this, we reached the station around 11:30 pm. Now this is where the craziness began because as it turned out, we didn't have confirmed tickets. There was still a way to board the train, there were other ways to get back home and there was a group of ladies with divided opinions. We knew we were in a mess. What we didn't know was that there were going to be fights, tantrums, screaming matches, a lot of rushing around, loads of laughter and an unexpected stopover. All of that in part 2 of this crazy extended weekend!
Now I knew from the time we had planned this, that I might not be able to accomplish all that I would like to on the trip. The reason for this was that out of the 6 women who were going(my mum, three aunts, a cousin and myself), 4 were going for the sole purpose of shopping, 1 was equally inclined to shop and get some sightseeing done and 1 wanted to just explore the city without entering any shop that sells sarees. The one divided between the two activities was my mum and the last one happened to be me. Add to this the fact that the only other person in my age group LOVES shopping and that we've never been super close. We don't hate each other; we've just never interacted much.
So, we were scheduled to leave on the evening of 11th December, the day of my last exam for the semester. I wasn't particularly happy about this because like most people I wanted to go out with friends post the exam. What made me even more unhappy was the fact that I would have to miss a dance class. If you're one of the very few people who know about and read this blog, you know me well enough to know how much I hate having to miss a dance class. But I made my peace with both these things. But as soon as I got out of college, I got to know that our train got delayed and was scheduled to leave 10:30 p.m. Because of certain 'logistical' issues, I still couldn't attend class but I managed to meet a friend for a steaks lunch. And then there was another delay. Our train was scheduled to leave around 4:30 a.m. With barely 2 hours of sleep we were halfway to the station when we got a message that the train would now leave at 7:30 a.m.! This game was no longer any fun. But finally we left for Varanasi at 7:35, after an 11 hour delay.
The talk during the journey mostly revolved around the details of an upcoming wedding in the family(hence the shopping trip). But for me it was about catching up on some much-needed post-exams sleep. What struck me most when we arrived in the city around 11 p.m was the bustling road. It could have been 6 in the evening for all anyone knew. This was pretty much it for the first day. Well this and a really bad car ride from the station.
Our day began quite early on Saturday. My aunts had done their research and zeroed in on a few shops. We landed up in the first one before most shops had even opened. And then it started. The looking through innumerable piles of sarees and picking only a select few. This could have been bearable had I not been expected to drape sarees to help in the selection process. A couple of hours later the owners, who are relatives of a friend of my cousin's, told us that they'll get some more stock for us in a few hours. Truth be told, I think they just needed a break. But did we? Absolutely not. That is, except for me. Then onto another place. I can't call this one a shop. It was more of a cross between an office and a maze. Spread over 3 floors it had 7-8 glass-panelled rooms on every floor, each stocked with something different. There were secret rooms and corridors and too many racks lining the corridors. And a reception. This one was followed by a quaint little shop which isn't very easy to spot. By this time I was mentally too tired to even be annoyed by all the shopping. It was 7 p.m and we were right back to the first shop to pick up our stuff. Before this day I never fully understood the depth of the dialogue from Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jayenge "Haath thaka diya tabse sariyan dikha dikha ke". And then the high point of my day. We were served 3 different types of chaat that one finds only in Banaras. Aah! That is all a hungry, tired, bored, street food lover needed.
Finally the shopping ended and we had to rush back for dinner before catching our train. Miraculously we had some time to spare so we decided to visit the most famous temple in the City of Temples. The approach could really use some work. It's a winding alley that is poorly lit, wet and full of dirt and muck. But once you get to the temple it's a different story. I'm increasingly becoming an agnostic so my reason for being there wasn't completely religious. I love monuments and architecture. And this temple seemed to radiate the very idea of Kashi as we think of it. The city that's been around forever and has it's own niche somewhere between the fast evolving metropolitan cities and the still rustic towns. The covered courtyard, cold stone paths and multiple idols in the Kashi Vishwanath temple all seem to radiate a certain strength that is only built over time. We happened to be there in time for the last pooja of the day, which was absolutely worth attending. A large group of people chanting at their loudest would stop to periodically ring all the bells in the temple continuously. And there were way too many bells to even estimate. That 15-20 minutes long ritual was unbelievably invigorating.
Post this, we reached the station around 11:30 pm. Now this is where the craziness began because as it turned out, we didn't have confirmed tickets. There was still a way to board the train, there were other ways to get back home and there was a group of ladies with divided opinions. We knew we were in a mess. What we didn't know was that there were going to be fights, tantrums, screaming matches, a lot of rushing around, loads of laughter and an unexpected stopover. All of that in part 2 of this crazy extended weekend!
