Postlude - Paris

 We chose to break our return trip in Paris which has been a good idea.  It is hard to see the luxury and high standard of living and street after street of expensive jewelry etc  while the visions of India remain.   We are mostly relaxing but did take a bus tour yesterday past Paris' iconic sites which we visited in 1972. 

 Notre Dame

For those who read The DaVinci Code :)

                            Paris gave us our Statue of Liberty and this is their copy facing NYC.  I doubt it has Emma Lazarus' poem on it.

Home tomorrow .  See we are sneaking in before another snow storm.   This trip has been more than we ever could have hoped for.

Our deepest thanks to Deepa Krishnan, owner of Magic Tours of India and her staff.   She understood our special needs and monitored our progress and was only a phone call away if anything needed attention.  She made this wonderful trip possible.

Leaving India

I can't believe we will leave India in the morning! This was a dream I did not expect to fulfill. I was taking more time outs at the end but did much more than I expected to and I am so very grateful to Deepa, owner of Magic Tours of India and Gaurav our contact throughout who were always just a phone call away for things large and small. The right car, the right itinerary, and the flexibility to make any changes  each day.  Our guides were great. The two women , Anita in Delhi, and Nedhi in Jaipur  were over the top beyond our expectations, and the men,  Shanti, and J. P. were knowledgeable and always concerned for our  welfare.  Our drivers are heroes of safety, and graciousness. We could  not have made this trip without them.

  I will miss this country in many ways but not in others. I will be grateful to be able to brush my teeth from faucet water, to eat raw fruits and vegetables, to ride on roads that are not totally rutted, to eat food that is not deep fried and spicy HOT, the driving and horn language I could not begin to understand..
I will miss the beautiful faces, the friendliness of the people, the deep spirituality of so many we met and even the cows lying in the middle of the road. The daily surprises. Our guides so willing to help. The terrible unmet needs. The mostly peaceful coexistence of Hindus, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, Bahais, and Christians. The amazing colors worn by the women.

And I am especially grateful neither of us got Delhi belly or any other illness that would have made this trip more difficult.
AND I loved seeing so many of you checking what we were up to!

To all  Namaste! (The God in me greets the God in you).

Next trip, Germany and Austria in May when I will be 77  :)

Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon

Sarnath is 13 k from Varanasi  - Buddhist holy place

This is a Buddhist temple commemorating Buddha's life here where he preached his first sermon

 The story of Buddha's life is depicted on the walls

The pilgrim rests :)

 Depiction of Buddha giving sermon to his first 5 disciples 

Prayer flags and prayer wheels.  Next to these is a Bodi (ficus tree).  The tree where Buddha became enlightened is in far north of India.  A shoot from that was taken to Sri Lanka and one from the tree in Sri Lanka was planted here.  Our guide picked up a leaf from it and gave it to me.  Pretty special!

Next to the Buddhist temple and gardens is an archeological site dating to bout 300 BCE where they have uncovered 7 Buddhist monasteries

While Norbert walked around the archeological site I sat with this Tibetan woman

Evening ceremonies on the Ganga (Ganges)

On the boat - These candles with flowers you can't see are set in the water of the Ganga to carry wishes and prayers

This ceremony on this ghat has about 20 thousand people attending!!  I couldn't get good pictures at night but wanted to show something.  There were 7 priests across chanting and waving candles and doing rituals.   To the left of this on another ghat was a smaller similar ritual with 5 priests in red.

Often called the 'ceremony of light', the arti involves waving lighted wicks before the sacred images to infuse the flames with the Deities' love, energy and blessings. It is performed by sadhus (Hindu monks) and pujaris (attendants to the Deities).

 Cremation ghat.  From the boat we could see the families and the funeral pyres,  I always thought the bodies were placed on top of the fire.  No so.  The body is placed on the ground and  the wood added on top and lit.  The burning takes about 5 hours and then some of the ashes are collected and taken by family and some placed in Mother Ganga.

Another light ceremony.  You can see some of the boats.  The huge crowd is on the shore

Visit to Benerea University in Varanasi

 A visit to Benares (former name of Varanasi) University where we met many students,  I was something of a novelty.  They all wanted to take their picture with me :)

Tech students

There is a beautiful temple in the center of the campus.  No pix allowed inside

 Part of the temple grounds

 Two young tourists from UTAH!  Very unusual.  Except for Chicago people from the middle states are rarely seen in the countries we visit.

These young women are dental students

Morning boatride on Mother Ganga (the Ganges)

The boats awaiting

The banks of the Ganga.  There is a priest under each red umbrella to perform rituals for people

Our wonderful guide - J. P.

The steps to the Ganga are called Ghats.  They serve many purposes.  There are laundry ghats, cleansing ghats, cremation ghats, ritual ghats etc  This is a cremation ghat with wood that will be used in the evening

Sunrise on the Ganga, our guide told us it had .been foggy every day for a week before we came.  That is across the river.  There is no building there as it floods during monsoons

A holy man

You can see from how we are dressed how cold it is and yet many are bathing in the Ganga

The old buildings are very beautiful

Bathing ghat

We were lucky to be there during this ceremony which might broadly be compared to Christian confirmation. or Bat/Bar Mitsvah.  This little boy is said to have unusual wisdom and already knows the teachings

Varanasi (the Holiest city for Hindu's)

Varanasi Airport

There are very few super markets in India - except in the most major cities.  Most are the small stalls you have seen in many pictures.  When people are poor, animals suffer.  These chickens are "alive".  Because there is no refrigeration in the stores, chickens have to be kept "alive" if you can call this so.    Sheep and goats are killed in special places and the meat sliced immediately and sold.

This is the set up for a wedding at our hotel

It was a night wedding - people have not arrived yet

The "common people" celebrated too

This is the groom seated.  The bride will arrive eventually.  Her face is veiled and they have not met.  The parents arranged the wedding.   Her face is uncovered only after the wedding (which takes 5 hours I am told) is completed.  She then moves to his family house which is a sad and emotional moment.

Wedding car