Pinda death ritual

Maybe you have heard about one very interesting ritual with rice balls - pindas, performed after death in India. Since this ceremony is easy to spot on Varanasi ghats, we have decided to take a close look on it.

We called our friend brahmin in Varanasi, and here is what he said.

The pinda, though very small and seemingly unsophisticated, plays a significant role in death rituals, assisting the soul of the dead person to avoid some serious problems.

After the cremation, when the soul have left the body through the hole in the skull, the rice balls are offered to the soul during 12 days. A new ball each day. Why 12? Because it takes exactly this amount of time for the soul to reach the world of ancestors - the mysterious Pitriloka.

On the way to Pitrilka the soul may encounter some grave troubles. Like it can get stuck between Heaven and Earth, turning into a ghost or into an ever-hunger spirit. But the pinda rituals actually help the soul to proceed smoothly on its way.

The balls symbolize a transferring body and offer a temporary asylum for the soul. The thing is, after death, the soul gets quite confused - what to do and where to go. And since there is no body anymore, it needs some anchor. And this is what the pindas are made for.

There's also a theory, that the soul actually feeds on those balls, but that is not very clear. The balls are composed of rice flour, and sometimes sesame and barley flour. What exactly meaning is assigned to those ingredients, our friend brahmin couldn't tell us on the spot, but promised to ask his grandfather, a 90 year old ayurveda professor. We'll keep you updated on this. Probably, the soul somehow likes the sesame.

On with the ritual. On the 10th day there's a special ceremony for the balls. The pinda is left on the ground for the crows. Crows are considered as a symbol of Yama - the lord of death in Hinduism. The crows are very greedy, and yet very clever. A lot of things could be discovered watching their behaivour. So sometimes the crows would not come near the pinda, as if something or someone scares them away.

This means that the soul tries to get the attention of the relatives. It hovers above the rice ball and keeps the crows at a distance - this is the only way the soul can send a message to the relatives.

Apparently, the soul is in pain because of vasana - a fundamental desire, which it failed to fulfill during lifetime. And if the relatives are ready to help, they should approach the pinda and say "Should you have any unsatisfied desire, come to my dream or let me know about it in some other way". And then the deceased person will try to establish a contact.

On the 12th day the soul finds itself in Pitrlioka, and its future is defined by its karma. The soul can attain - reunite with the God, or get a new life on Earth.

Later on the pinda ritual is done after in a year. The name of the deceased is muttered over the rice balls and the family dips into Ganges rivers. If the first ritual was performed in some sacred city, like Varanasi, there is no need to perfom it for the second time.

Potters enjoying sun in Varanasi

Varanasi potters were finally out in full strength to take advantage of the warm and shining Sun and lend their vigour to giving shape to various-sized earthen cups.

"We could not have asked for a more opportune time for weather to improve than the holy Magh month," said Sunil Vishwakarma, a senior potter. "It not only marks the start of the wedding season but other sacred rituals and festivities also create a demand for out earthen cups. Then, there is always the high demand of tea to be served in these cups in this season," he elaborated.

The recent cold weather, which lasted for 10 days, had caused nearly 50% slump in their business as most of the tea stalls and kiosks across the city had opted for plastic cups. Even more so, the faint sunlight could not provide sufficient warmth for drying the pots, causing delay in their preparation.

"The extended sunlight with increasing intensity is a blessing for clay materials that get harder and bind easily under these conditions," said another potter Ashok Karmakar.

Over 10,000 potter families reside in Varanasi depending on the clay crockery business. The demand for earthen cups reaches its peak in the winter season due to increasing consumption of hot beverages, especially local tea with milk that is preferred in earthen cups. 5 rupees a cup.
The cups then get smashed against the pavement.

based on The Times of India story

Monday traffic in Varanasi

After a couple of months' reprieve, the Monday factor became once again obvious in Varanasi as traffic crawled for the entire day on almost all the roads, says Times of India. Last time such a collapse happened in the beginning of October.

The schools reopened on Monday and the traffic increased dramatically. Situation worsened during peak hours when the traffic came to a halt at almost all crossings.

Traffic inspector Vinay Chauhan said in the interview that Monday increased traffic was not unexpected - the authorities apparently knew about schools reopening. But he blamed the construction work done on a lot of roads, especially in trans-Varuna localities, as the main reason for the collapse.

The traffic inspector also mentioned impatient commuters. Right he is - those reckless ricksha wallas and bikers in Varanasi would never wait for their turn patiently.

Harvest day celebrated in Varanasi

Holy dip in the Ganga, donations to poor on the ghats and kite flying marked the celebrations of Makar Sankranti (locally called 'Khichdi') on Friday, January 14.

Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into Makara rashi (Capricorn) constellation.
It is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. When the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India.

While the traditional Indian calendar is fully based on lunar positions, Sankranti is one outstanding solar event. So while dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing as per the Gregorian calendar, the date of Makar Sankranti remains constant over a long term, 14 January.

Makar Sankranti, apart from a harvest festival is also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture. It is referred to as the 'holy phase of transition'. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar began in mid-December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Hindu family, this day onwards. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season.

Many cities celebrate it in different ways, but in Varanasi there were a lot of kites flying high.

The markets across Varanasi were flooded with colourful kites available in different shapes and sizes to lure youngsters and elderly alike.

Besides kites, shopkeepers have brought a wide variety of manjha (sharp thread used to fly kites) and pareta (the wooden dumble on which the thread is wrapped).

The influence of Chinese stuff is visible in the market of kites as well these days, said Sanjay Aggrawal, a wholesaler of kites in Gadaulia area on Wednesday.

"Now, we have a wide range of colourful kites available in different shapes and sizes. The list includes butterfly kites, warrior kites (in the form of fighter planes), multiple kites or serial kites that are tied together to form a series and the dragon kites that are available in the form of dragon. Similarly, Chinese pareta and manjha are also giving a good competition to the tradition products," he added.

The kite-flying tradition that was earlier confined to the old parts of the city (Pucca Mahal) along the ghats on the banks of holy Ganga has slowly spread to other parts of the city.

People nowadays love to fly kites at new places like the sand-beds in the middle of the Ganga, said Purushottam Aggrawal, a kite trader.

He said that the involvement of foreign visitors and tourists has added glamour and attraction to the festival, locally called khichdi.

from The Times of India and online sources

Dalai Lama has arrived to Sarnath

His Holliness the 14th Dalai Lama has arrived in Sarnath on Monday.
From Buddhist monks to common people including women and children, a large number of Tibetans queued up along the road leading to the Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS), Sarnath, to have a glimpse of His Holiness.

The Dalai Lama was accorded a ceremonial welcome in Tibetan style at the CUTS. A group of Tibetans played on traditional instrument 'Gyaling Raktum' on his arrival while a number of monks and other distinguished persons, including vice-chancellor Ngawang Samten, offered traditional 'Khata' (stole) to him.

Thousands of Tibetans from across the world assembled in Sarnath to see the Dalami Lama and listen to his teachings during his nine-day stay. The crowd is expected to reach 100 000 people. A number of temporary shops of a variety of articles also came into existence along the road. The few hotels in Sarnath are full, and the weather conditions won't allow to set up many tents, like when the Dalai Lama came to Bodhgaya in 2009.

During his stay the Dalai Lama will take part in the valedictory function of the four-day 'Tenggyur Translation Conference: In the tradition of the 17 Pandits of Nalanda', organised by the CUTS and American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. He will deliver his teachings to Buddhist followers from January 12 to 17. He will leave on January 19. The teachings will be aired live, so that they can be caught on FM radio.

Sarnath, where Buddha delivered his first sermon, has always been one of the favoured destinations of the Dalai Lama. He has been regularly visiting the CUTS.

The institution, a centre of higher education for the Tibetans, holds a special importance for the Dalai Lama. In 1959 a mass exodus of the Tibetan emigrants left their country and took political asylum in India. Under joint efforts of the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and India's then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the CIHTS was established in 1967 to educate the youth of Tibet and the students on the Indian border, who had to leave Tibet and could not continue education in Buddhism there.

from The Times of India and online sources

Dalai Lama will pay a visit to Varanasi

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will arrive in Varanasi on Monday, January 10, for a 9-day visit. His Holliness will address his followers in Sarnath. Thousands of Tibetans from all over India have already arrived in Sarnath.

During his visit, the spiritual leader will stay at the Central University of Tibetan Studies (CUTS).

The 14th Dalai Lama is the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile"). The Dalai Lama lives in exile in Dharamsala, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, where the Central Tibetan Administration is also established.

Freezing Varanasi

The coldwave and dense fog have a hard grip on Varanasi.

Friday turned out to be the coldest day with mercury dropping to 2.6 degree Celsius. The dipping mercury not only broke the records of minimum temperature witnessed on January 4 (3.0 degree Celsius) this year, it also matched the record of minimum mercury level registered on January 5, 2006. Similarly, the maximum temperature in the day stood at 10.8 degree C. High humidity (100%) also indicated that the fog might last for another couple of days in the region.

Pappu, a tea vendor of Asi, was busy serving tea to a crowd of shivering people. He also had an inviting (coal) fire ready. "I have witnessed extremely cold conditions in the past, but the first week of the New Year (2011) has proved enough to test the nerve of steel as it is getting colder day by day," said the man who was wrapped in a blanket from head to toe. "First, it was the coldwave that forced people to remain indoors. Now it is fog that is bringing life to a halt. Life is definitely getting more difficult as the weather conditions are making even normal routine activities a challenge," he added.

All neighbouring shops were closed and only betel shops were open showing some activity in the area. Such was the wrath of weather in the day that almost all public places, including Cantonment railway station, roadways bus stand and world famous ghats, wore a deserted look. Similarly, most parts of the city and the rural pockets remained wrapped in thick fog for most parts of the day and only feeble sunlight appeared in the afternoon.

"The appearance of fog in the region is an indication of western disturbances across the country. Similarly, fresh snowfall in Himalayan region have brought coldwave to the region and suggest that the conditions are likely to prevail for the next 48 to 72 hours with mercury promising to drop even further," said weather scientist from department of Geophysics, BHU, SN Pandey.

Meanwhile, a number of trains, mostly long-distance, including New Delhi-bound Shivganga Express and Kashi Vishwanath Express, Dehradun-bound Doon Express, Jaipur-bound Marudhar Express and those going towards northern region, continued to run late by more than three hours. Similarly, more than 50% of buses bound for long routes were being cancelled due to the extreme cold.

Bonfires continued to be lit at a number of areas apart from prominent crossings and police outposts in the city.


from The Times of India

Navigating the streets of Varanasi

The narrow streets of Varanasi make even a seemingly short trip to your hotel a real challenge. Even more so if you have a map.

Try navigate the city labirynth in the JohnyVagabond's quest

Hotels and districts of Varanasi. Train station area

All the tourist hotels and guesthouses in Varanasi are compressed basically in three main districts of the city.




If we enter the city from the airport, the 1st is located close to the Varanasi train station, the 2nd - is around the Main Ghat (Dasashwamed) - Godowlia / Church Crossing, and the 3d is the Assi Ghat surroundings.


It seems that they are different only location-wise, but each location has a powerful impact on the exposure of the city. Usually visitors come to Varanasi only for a couple of days on their first trip, and the choice of the area where to stay instantly shapes the face of the city, which they will see. 


So first about the train station area. The hotels, that are located both in Cantonement and Lahurabir area, are for those, who 


1) come to Varanasi for a really short stay, not to actually experience the city, but rather to spend the night before boarding the train or flight to another destination.
2) don't really bother engulfing themselves into the atmosphere of the eternal city with all its beggars and touts, cow manure everywhere and old temples, which you can enter only with your shoes off.


Those on a way to another destination will spend the night in some yawnful, but clean Buddha Hotel. Buddha is a twin brother of drab airpport highway hotels in Delhi, between domestic and international terminals. Those who stay there would not go out curious about nightlife in Benares. And we must say, there's actually hardly a place to visit around the hotel, if you dare to navigate the pitch-black alley that leads to and from the hotel. And in the morning they will eat their breakfast and move on with their trip.


The second group of travellers will book the luxurious Renaissance or Taj Ganges - 'a quiet and peaceful getaway from the madness of Varanasi', as its customers put it. It truly is. The high-end Taj is located quite far from the old city, and from the ghats, to have repeated rides back and forth every day. So those who don't want to be bothered, will remain peacefully settled in a place once occupied by a palace. 

Such travellers will probably have an SUV ride to Sarnath, and watch from the boat the evening aarti ceremony at Ganges. They will stare at the ceremony as detached observers, like it is some kind of a Third World tribal show, that apparently has no importance in it whatsoever.  


They will eat some sterilized Indian food from a nice cutlery in the hotel's restaurant (a buffet for just 750 rupees), and have a dignified, yet lonely, walk through a shopping arcade right next to Taj, which keeps all hussle of the city out of its premises by setting up a fence around the shop and a security post at the entrance.


They will see the abridged version of Varanasi, because all its magic, and every single chance to percieve sacred and auspicious nature of the city are hidden inside the labirynth of narrow lanes and scattered around ancient ghat steps to the Ganges, which they will never touch.