A place of hope, a strong sense of faith that I have yet to come across elsewhere, emotions on the sleeves of the people, a willingness to help, to look out for each other; the elaborate temples, the winding roads and gallis beyond the ghats, the ghats themselves, the magnificent River Ganga flowing towards the North; the chaotic traffic that still incorporated the cows amongst all the vehicles and people, the mouthfuls of Banarasi paan I saw around...the smell of morning jelebis.
This place of such deep character that took me less than just eight days to fall in love with. The city of lights! Varanasi.
It was more than just an ecological visit from design school. It was the getting together of a bunch of people, some of whom I barely even spoke to, that grew into family along the way. It was the findings of some great teachings; a start of new relationships. It was about the affection I received, the warmth I found in the city. It had that tremendous capacity to make me feel at home in less than three days. It was me experiencing history.
It came in the form of a reality check. It showed me my weaknesses. In the most indirect of ways, it taught me a lesson. The lesson of detachment. Of empathy and not sympathy; of courage. Courage to let go, to keep emotions at bay when it acts as an interference and yet to always display sensitivity.
The culmination of my emotions.
Or rather, there is a piece of that marvelous city in me. A piece I didn't know would ever be part of me. A piece of it that I shall treasure till as long as I can remember it, a piece that has now contributed to my characters, and that will in the years to come.
I shall always live with a little Varanasi in me.
I found what I wanted to in the gallis behind The Tulsi Ghat. It was the place Tulsidas lived at while he wrote the Ramcharitmanas. It's a home to a variety of important activities ranging from 'Lolark Sasthi' (the place where sons used to be blessed for a long life) to the dipping of leprosy patients in the holy water for healing. It is also the office base for 'Sankat Mochan Foundation', a non governmental organization working to clean the Ganga since 1982.
However, in spite of all these activities and the importance of it's location near the famous Assi Ghat, I found a story in the corner of the galli behind Tulsi Ghat. I found myself in the family of a Chai walla, in their lives, through their stories.
It has definitely been the highlight of my trip. A part that has contributed to at-least 60% of my experience. I chose to learn about Varanasi through this Chai walla and his family. For me, it wasn't as important to know the facts from the Sadhus and Sages or the leading people of the land. Through the hearts of this family located behind the famous ghat, I could locate the city. I saw the city through the eyes of a family living there through generations. I got my facts of the city and the holy river from them. I learnt about the people, the culture, their beliefs and faiths, their own personal emotions, likes and dislikes, religion, food and the works.
I had formed new relationships, relationships to be cherished. Relationships that have taught me lessons I could have got from nowhere else.
It is the start to my practice of detachment. Vairaagya, in Sanskrit. Letting go. In many ways, it gave me a larger picture on life. We're all part of the same human race. We vary in terms of origin, language, religion etc., but it showed me how similar we all are. We all have the need for company. We are curious animals who can't live alone. We have the want for recognition. We want to be remembered. We work to sustain ourselves, of course; but it showed me that sustenance isn't our only goal in life. Survival is, and individually we have certain ways to attain this through the process of this game of survival, of life. This tea stall owner wasn't very different from the people I've met before or the people I know or the people we see on television, celebrities from the world across; parents from the middle classes, the poorer and the rich families raising their children, children growing up, the elderly...all of us. It showed me that we're all alone, living together. We have people, none of them shall stay. They'll support you, they might betray you, but you shall always be alone. We're all individuals, incapable of living in isolation, but yet we are all alone. The chai walla always found himself alone at the the end of the day. He had people through the day that I saw him sharing happiness with, people he looked comfortable with, some of them he didn't like too much, just like the rest of us. But he was alone at the end of the day. He was alone, just like the rest of us. He was aware of it, he had embraced it, there did I embrace it too.
Through a family in the tiny gallis of Kashi, I found joy. I found lessons that no book would be able to teach me. I learnt for myself that when we don't have certain things we crave for and we look for them elsewhere, it shall never be found. Acceptance and moving on is important, for ones own development, for us to continue on our journeys of our short lives.
Here is my first short film, a film on attachments and new findings. Of my findings in Varanasi, of the importance of detachment.
The link provides for better viewing: http://youtu.be/fOTsZsX37w8
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