Page 23 - india

LIFE & DEATH ON THE GANGES

I that is really Indian, you
The incredible ghats of Varanasi

BY MARK MOXON | PHOTOS BY RON JAMES f you had to choose one city
to represent everything

would probably choose Va-
ranasi. This means it is a fas-
cinating place; it also means
it's almost impossible to
describe on paper.
The first area of Varanasi is the main
business district, known as the Can-
tonment area. Almost every city has
a Cantonment area; this was the
Raj-era term for the administrative
and military area of a city, and most
cities retain the Cantonment name
for the central part. Varanasi's core is
also its least interesting area, so let's
dispense with it quickly; if you want
a train ticket or a bank, go to the Can-
tonment, otherwise you're better off
hanging out in the two other main
areas of town.

Varanasi is built along the west bank
of the Ganges, which, in an attempt
to avoid the hills to the east in Bihar,
turns north towards the Ghaghara
River; this means that the river flows
north at Varanasi, against all intu-
ition, and Varanasi is perched on the
west bank, facing into the sunrise.
All along this bank is the second area
of town, a long line of ghats stretch-
ing for some six or seven kilometres
between the famous Benares Hindu
University in the south and the large
railway bridge in the north. Inland
from the ghats, to the west, is the
third area, the old town, where things
start to get really interesting. It's the
ghats and the old town that make Va-
ranasi what it is.

Arriving in Varanasi after a long train
journey, your first experience is one
of total confusion and disorientation.
It is a guarantee that your rickshaw
driver will totally ignore your instruc-
tions to take you to the hotel you've
told him, and will instead stop out-
side a hotel that gives him a healthy

Left: The faithful bathe and pray in the Ganges.

Wine Dine & Travel Spring 2014 23