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A PEEK AT THE LumINOuS ONE

CLImbING GIANTS IN KENYA

The stories you’ve heard about Varanasi are all true

This is the highest place I’ve ever stood — this is the top of Kenya

48NOVICE’S DAY bOuLDErING ON GWANAK

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DESTINATIoNS

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8/3/2019 GROOVE December Destinations - Varanasi

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A peekat the Luminous One

IndiaUttar Pradesh

photos and story by COLIN ROOHAN

“To put it bluntly, life is what transpires at the ghats. They are otherworldly and seemto have a pulse of their own.” 

VARANASI, India — The stories you hear about Varanasiare all true: monkeys, cows, rivers, ghats, alleys, crowds, smells,corpses, cremations, touts. Every bit of it. The birthplace of theHindu deity Shiva, this city on the Ganges has appeared inHindu texts for thousands of years. Varanasi, also called “TheLuminous One,” is a propitious place for Hindus in India andthroughout the world. They come to rinse their sins away inthe river. It is also believed that dying and being cremated inVaranasi frees a person’s soul from its cycle of wandering.

A walk or boat ride along the ghats (a broad set of stepsproviding access to the water) at dusk is the must-do experi-ence of Varanasi. To put it bluntly, life is what transpires at theghats. They are otherworldly and seem to have a pulse of theirown. They’re a microcosm of India. In my pre-trip research onVaranasi I read mostly about the ghats and the sights they

contain, tips on the do’s and don’ts of public cremation eti-quette, and how to successfully haggle with boatmen. I alsoread never, ever, under any circumstance to touch the water ofthe Ganges for fear of your feeble foreigner skin disintegrating.

The Lonely Planet only briefly mentions what is known asthe Old City, which is the maze of narrow alleyways borderedwith countless shops, temples and guesthouses. If the ghatsare the heart of Varanasi, the Old City’s alleyways are its veins.

I found I couldn’t swivel my head fast enough to keep upwith the commotion. One second I’d have to squeeze my bodyagainst the walls for a loaded motorbike to snake through.The next second I’d be stopped dead in my tracks by a mas-sive bull staring into my eyes. This is a traveler’s playground, adangerous merry-go-round that throws kids off left and rightwith no regret. Rules? Nah, who needs them? The Old Cityhas no rules. As a photojournalist and traveler I highly recom-mend immersing yourself in it. If it weren’t for clothing labelsand government guards toting automatic weapons I may havebeen confused about which century I was in. Browse the mar-kets and chat with friendly vendors. Enjoy the hand-paintedadvertisements draped in dust from decades of abuse, whileyou stroll past sipping a Thums Up. You’ll enjoy your experiencein Varanasi all the more.

42 • GROOVE KOREADecember 2011

Another worldVaranasi’s Old City area seemsdivorced from modernity.

InternationalGK