• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 2268 0

the correct fare—the best technique is to quote your price and walk away disinterestedly. Be further warned that rickshaw-wallas will readily agree to take you somewhere without having the faintest idea where it is. Once you’ve been onboard for several minutes, you will suddenly be asked where you want to go and, more likely than not, you will end up at a shop where the driver expects to make a commission off your purchase. To avoid falling into this annoying and time-wasting trap, ensure that the driver can repeat the name of your destination (or the nearest prominent landmark), in recognizable English. In addition, avoid the shopping scam by using a bit of trickery yourself. To begin with, never use the word “shopping” with a rickshaw-walla. If you’re heading to the shopping area in Godaulia, ask to be taken to Dasashwamedh Ghat, as if you plan to go there for a stroll. When you’re almost there, you’ll pass the Old City shopping area and Godaulia; stop your rickshaw and get off before you reach the ghats, or get to the ghats and take the 5-minute walk back into the market

GUIDED TOURS We recommend that you explore the area with a personal guide, if only to know which temples you can enter or which street food to sample, and to avoid getting lost or conned. One of Varanasi’s best guides is Ajit Kumar Yadav ( 0542/258-1052 or 94-1522-5994; ajitashay@yahoo.com; Rs 600 half-day for one to five persons or Rs 800 for a full day), an official, government-approved guide; he’s often engaged for group tours during peak season, so book before you leave. Ajit is perfect for those looking for an understanding of the city that goes beyond its history, covering religious rituals and mythological stories as well. His knowledge of Hinduism and Buddhism (for Sarnath) is unmatched; most important, he never asks if you want to shop, unless you express a strong interest. Shailesh Tripathi ( 94-1528-7257), an archaeology Ph.D. from Benares University, is another government-approved guide with a wealth of knowledge, as is Devesh Agarwal ( 98-3904-2347); both charge Rs 700 for a half-day and Rs 1,200 for a full day. Alternatively, you can arrange both guide and car through your hotel, or contact the India Tourism Office (see “Visitor Information,” above) to arrange for an approved guide and vehicle ( 0542/220-6638). To hire a boat (with oarsman), head for Dasashwamedh; the price should be around Rs 100 per hour.

FESTIVALS Varanasi is in many ways like a huge trippy trance party that started centuries ago and has kept on going, its revelers refusing to discard their costumes and come down to earth. So there’s no real reason to time your visit with a festival—on the contrary, any increase in numbers is worth avoiding. However, the huge Dev Deepavali (Diwali) festival is by all accounts a spectacle, held during the full moon in October/November. Almost every ghat and building is covered by glowing earthen lamps, and the river is aglitter with floating candles (but with about 100,000 pilgrims about, you may never even get to the river). Other auspicious occasions are Mahashivratri (Jan/Feb), Holi (Mar/Apr), Ganga Dashehra (May/June), and Sri Krishna Janmashtami (Sept/Nov).

Up in Flames

You need a pretty strong constitution to hang around Varanasi’s burning ghats (Harish Chandra or Manikarnika) and watch a human corpse, wrapped in little more than a sheet, being cremated in public view. Bodies are burned around the clock at these famous open-air cremation sites, which draw a constant crowd of grievers, curious pilgrims, bug-eyed travelers, and confused cows. Only one particular Hindu caste group is allowed to touch the bodies or perform the cremation. After bathing the body one last time in the holy Ganges, they place it on wood piles, and cover it with more logs (ask your guide about the kinds of wood—teak, sandalwood, and so on—used and their significance) before being doused in a flammable paste, or ghee, and lightly coated with incense powder (the latter used to hide the smell of burning flesh). Then a male relative, usually the son (female