Varanasi
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Jackie Lallier wrote: "Up at 4:30 and left at 5:00 on our bus to the Ganges. There was an amazing amount of people and animals out on the street already. We walked down to the river where there were hundreds of people including bathers, hawkers, dogs, goats and monkeys. We gave alms to the poor and got on a boat to go up stream during sunrise, observing hundreds of temples.
The river is 2,700 kilometers long - it comes out of the Himalayas and flows into the Bay of Bengal. There are 27 cities on the banks of this river. Every home has some Ganges water for ceremonies. Various maharajas came here and built palaces for culture, exchanges and education. The "dobeys" are of a caste that do laundry. Sometimes the monkeys steal the laundry and barter for food to give the laundry back. No women come to funerals since they have children and they need to be kept free from disease. The eldest son shaves his head to show morning. Fat or grease is added to the pyre to make it bum better. Then the skull is broken to get rid of memories. No cooking is done in the house for the next 3 days and any business can be opened 3 days later. The ashes are taken to the river and a Brahmin is consulted for funeral rites.
We went back to the hotel for breakfast (no buses are allowed on the city streets here after 9:00 AM as it gets too crowded). We met again at 1 0:00 for a tour of a silk working factory. This is a 6th generation business. They use gold plated silver wire for brocade. One man does the color and the pattern (from memory). They weave 2 centimeters a day on an 11th century loom.
At 2:00 we were off to the Samath (means "deer") Museum. When Buddhism & Jainism started, Hinduism was spoken in Sanskrit and the local Indian language was parsi. We observed the Ashoka (Lion Capital) - the lion being a symbol of a king. There is a strong Greek sculpture influence. Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" is a compilation of Buddhist monks' stories. The flag colors indicate saffron for spiritual and green for purity. Buddha is typically structured with curly hair and long ears indicating royalty. The swastika sign was created in the 15t century AD. We saw the Buddha story on the walls. This is the place where Lord Buddha gave his ftrst sermon. The monastery & temple are gone but there are archaeological remains from the 3rd century excavated in 1794. We were back at the hotel at 5:00 to shower & clean up and at 6: 15 went to Barb's room for a "Surprise Birthday" Party. Later we had a GREAT kebab dinner. "
Jackie Lallier wrote: "Up at 4:30 and left at 5:00 on our bus to the Ganges. There was an amazing amount of people and animals out on the street already. We walked down to the river where there were hundreds of people including bathers, hawkers, dogs, goats and monkeys. We gave alms to the poor and got on a boat to go up stream during sunrise, observing hundreds of temples.
The river is 2,700 kilometers long - it comes out of the Himalayas and flows into the Bay of Bengal. There are 27 cities on the banks of this river. Every home has some Ganges water for ceremonies. Various maharajas came here and built palaces for culture, exchanges and education. The "dobeys" are of a caste that do laundry. Sometimes the monkeys steal the laundry and barter for food to give the laundry back. No women come to funerals since they have children and they need to be kept free from disease. The eldest son shaves his head to show morning. Fat or grease is added to the pyre to make it bum better. Then the skull is broken to get rid of memories. No cooking is done in the house for the next 3 days and any business can be opened 3 days later. The ashes are taken to the river and a Brahmin is consulted for funeral rites.
We went back to the hotel for breakfast (no buses are allowed on the city streets here after 9:00 AM as it gets too crowded). We met again at 1 0:00 for a tour of a silk working factory. This is a 6th generation business. They use gold plated silver wire for brocade. One man does the color and the pattern (from memory). They weave 2 centimeters a day on an 11th century loom.
At 2:00 we were off to the Samath (means "deer") Museum. When Buddhism & Jainism started, Hinduism was spoken in Sanskrit and the local Indian language was parsi. We observed the Ashoka (Lion Capital) - the lion being a symbol of a king. There is a strong Greek sculpture influence. Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" is a compilation of Buddhist monks' stories. The flag colors indicate saffron for spiritual and green for purity. Buddha is typically structured with curly hair and long ears indicating royalty. The swastika sign was created in the 15t century AD. We saw the Buddha story on the walls. This is the place where Lord Buddha gave his ftrst sermon. The monastery & temple are gone but there are archaeological remains from the 3rd century excavated in 1794. We were back at the hotel at 5:00 to shower & clean up and at 6: 15 went to Barb's room for a "Surprise Birthday" Party. Later we had a GREAT kebab dinner. "
Labels: India
posted by DT at 11:04 AM
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