[torryquine]

OK, I'm rubbish at writing long, descriptive passages on anything.  So I'll add posts to this thread as things occur to me which I think my be of interest.  Please do respond with your thoughts and opinions of anything I write, starting with my most recent observation...

[torryquine]

Our friend Jyoti Da needs feeding up!

We naturally met up with dear Jyoti in Delhi, who took us to the American Diner place in the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.  Wish we'd had longer to look at the art exhibitions and talk some more about those areas of Indian history which cross over with Mr TQs family history.  There was enough time to consider the (extraordinary) changes Delhi is undergoing in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, the importance of a coherent agricultural policy and the mystery of Subash Chandra Bose.

But when I came to hug the fellow, I feared he'd break!  More high-calorie meet-ups required!  

Pictures to follow when I get home.

Thanks Jyoti, it was great to meet you at last.  The next time (and there will be one for sure) we will go and listen to the Sufi music with you.

[kullukid]

I heard you were Jyotised! Welcome to the club.      KK

[Shashank]

well Dada is an extreme End of Delhi and other End is yours truly.....

Dada hardly eats anything...he is so fond of food..but when it comes to eating even birds would have a better appetite than him..

As as discussed earlier sometimes when we have strong wind or storm, we have to tie him to a lamp post...just in case...

[torryquine]

Varanasi can be a bit of a tourist circus

The aarti on the banks of the Ganges is one of the most stirring and beautiful rituals I've ever witnessed.  The synchronised movements of the priests, the chanting and bells and clapping, all that fire and incense adds up to a unique spectacle.

But in the morning (and this was Mahashivratri) the numbers of tourists (us included) being rowed about along the banks, observing/photographing, appeared to outnumber the faithful on the banks and in the water.  This left me a bit cold to say the least.  Has anyone else thought this?

Friends in Delhi told us that they could show us a different side to the city that we wouldn't normally access with our pale faces and lack of language.  I'm sure they could, I'm sure there's more, but my overall impression of Varanasi is one of superficiality.

Edited by torryquine, 14 March 2008 - 12:39 AM.

[kullukid]

Well despite the circus, you are still blessed if you were in Varanasi for Shivratri. I had to spend the day in Bradford see link.......would gladly have swapped with you.     

http://www.gourmetin...amp;#entry37784

I attended the Ganga Aarti in Rishi in Jan, which was done in true Bollywood style, but still felt verreee genuine & not just a show for the tourists; KK

http://203.200.227.1...rti/default.htm

http://www.parmarth.com/home.html

My pic's http://picasaweb.goo...key=6sDndDMuqh4

[Shashank]

kullukid, on Mar 13 2008, 06:14 PM, said:

I attended the Ganga Aarti in Rishi in Jan, which was done in true Bollywood style, but still felt verreee genuine & not just a show for the tourists; KK

I attended the same few years back at Rishikesh itself, with my family and it was one amazing experience, not be missed. Despite all the commercial activities going on, all the pandas come together in unison for that one event..

And I cannot remember seeing any tourist...I mean any foreigner at that time..

[dzibead]

Shashank, on Mar 13 2008, 04:17 AM, said:

well Dada is an extreme End of Delhi and other End is yours truly.....

Dada hardly eats anything...he is so fond of food..but when it comes to eating even birds would have a better appetite than him..

As as discussed earlier sometimes when we have strong wind or storm, we have to tie him to a lamp post...just in case...

I'm worried that when I finally meet Jyoti Da in person, I'll accidentally bump into him and that will be the end of the poor fellow!

Where did you stay in Varanasi, TQ?  Actually, I was quite blown away by the place!

[Hyderabadi]

Quote

As as discussed earlier sometimes when we have strong wind or storm, we have to tie him to a lamp post...just in case...

I think I have a picture of him in front of Karim's... now everytime I look at it I'm going to remember Shashank!    

[torryquine]

[quote name='kullukid' date='Mar 13 2008, 12:44 PM' post='37905']
Well despite the circus, you are still blessed if you were in Varanasi for Shivratri. I had to spend the day in Bradford see link.......would gladly have swapped with you.     

[That's a very good point. How thouroughly ungrateful and shallow of me.  

[torryquine]

dzibead, on Mar 13 2008, 06:00 PM, said:

Where did you stay in Varanasi, TQ?  Actually, I was quite blown away by the place!

We stayed in a shiney tourist class hotel (4*) I think.  This possibly made a difference, as I'm sure it did in Kajuraho.  That's a lesson for me too - those places depress me and make me feel disconnected from the action.

I've no doubt that others have had better experiences of the place.  I'm sure, given a longer stay we'd have connected a bit better with it.

[dzibead]

Try this place next time: Hotel Ganges View.  It's family-run, in the old family home - the family still lives  in the uppder part of the building.  It's at Asi Ghat, which has a fairly low-key, village-like ambience.  I've posted some pictures in the gallery here that I took at the hotel and looking out at the street scene from the hotel.

http://www.hotelgangesview.com/

[gianni66]

torryquine, on Mar 13 2008, 01:20 PM, said:

Varanasi can be a bit of a tourist circus

The aarti on the banks of the Ganges is one of the most stirring and beautiful rituals I've ever witnessed.  The synchronised movements of the priests, the chanting and bells and clapping, all that fire and incense adds up to a unique spectacle.

But in the morning (and this was Mahashivratri) the numbers of tourists (us included) being rowed about along the banks, observing/photographing, appeared to outnumber the faithful on the banks and in the water.  This left me a bit cold to say the least.  Has anyone else thought this?

Friends in Delhi told us that they could show us a different side to the city that we wouldn't normally access with our pale faces and lack of language.  I'm sure they could, I'm sure there's more, but my overall impression of Varanasi is one of superficiality.

Welcome back, Torryquine!

I had the same impression of you when I was in Varanasi, in August 2006, at the end of my first trip to India, after 19 days spent in Tamil Nadu. Maybe it was due to the big expectation that I had for this legendary place, but it was very disappointing to me, and not only for the presence of touts everywhere... it gave me a strange sense of "fakeness", it seemed to me that everything was not true, but just studied and set as a tourist trap, although I knew that this couldn't be the truth.

Compared to the cerimonies which I saw in Tamil Nadu temples (I remember in particular the one in Chidambaram, late in the evening, a terrific mixture of physicality and misticism, a sort of collective delirium which left me amazed and shocked), I found the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi nothing more than a tourist show. And the loads of boats in the morning full of tourists in a hurry to take their pictures before the others... and the continuos sense of "everything is on sale" which I could breathe in that city made me hate it after few hours from my arrival.

I had three full days planned in Varansi, but I escaped the day after.

Last year I've seen another Ganga Aarti in Haridwar, and it was totally different, maybe because there were much less tourists around and people seemed really interested in have a contact with me when they approached me rather that try to sell something.

Not to speak about Ujjain... one of the best places I've seen in India, much less appealing (apparently) than Varanasi, but surely much more authentic!

I cannot take definitive conclusions about Varanasi, but I can see that I'm not the first persone reporting such a bad experience. That's why I was planning to come back this year for the Shivaarti night, but then my plans had to be changed. And, as per your report, I've been lucky!

What I can presume is that Varanasi has just been ruined and destroyed by mass tourism, i.e., by ourselves. It's the paradox of tourism: we destroy what we look for, then we migrate somewhere else, toward the so-called "off the beaten tracks". Just to destroy them after that we have celebrated their "authenticity".

Are we all guilty? Or is there a different way to be tourists?

Honestly, I don't know, and I just keep on travelling, but trying as much as possible to avoid the worst mistakes of mass tourism. First of all, doing everything by myself, without any mediation of Tour Operators. Second, travelling by public transportation only. Third, eating local food only (I've just discovered that in Hampi there is almost NO INDIAN FOOD AT ALL!! Just western and Israeli food... why to go to India to eat what you normally eat at home???).

And I don't know if there will be a second time in Varanasi... surely there will be a second time in Tamil Nadu. Twenty-one days to go!!!!!!  

Edited by gianni66, 14 March 2008 - 06:14 PM.

[torryquine]

Mmmm, that looks much more like our kind of place.  Rooms were in short supply at that time of year due to the festival of course - plus we were late in getting ourselves organised.  But this leads me onto my next subject.....

[torryquine]

Thanks Gianni, you have eloquently put (in your second language) what I could not describe (in my FIRST language).

[torryquine]

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

We've done a lot of miles across India in all these modes of transport now.  And they all have thier good points, but on this trip we realised just how much we LOVE travelling by train.  

Curling up on my 2 tier air con bunk, with a nice cup of chai, a good book and a wonderful destination ahead of me, is just about as good as it gets.

We took a couple of flights on this trip, and ok - it's quick.  But hanging around an airport terminal full of grumpy old European and American tourists is not what we go to India for.  And just sitting there made me feel cheated of those few hours I'd be "taken out" of India.  Waiting at a station, with all it's smells and noises and bussle and hassle is just so much better.  I love it when those big, awsome engines roll in, with that thudding noise that hits you in the diaphragm, and those deafening horns.....

The Indian railways are the bloodstream of the country, and when I lie back on my bunk, that's where I am - in the bloodstream

[Bigzero]

Keep them coming, TQ! Nice to hear about your experiences.

Will follow this thread now for updates..

[Hyderabadi]

Bigzero, on Mar 14 2008, 09:03 AM, said:

Keep them coming, TQ! Nice to hear about your experiences.

Will follow this thread now for updates..

Good to see you here BigZ!

[Bigzero]

Thanks!  been a long time!

[priya]

clickety-clack-clickety-clack - Yesssssss!!!  There's nothing better.  Air travel may be faster, but a train journey just has an extra 'something' that adds to a holiday.

I have a feeling this is going to be a really great thread.  Keep 'em coming TQ.