The celebration of death in Varanasi

The only way to understand India is to clear your mind, reset it and make it ready to accept the new culture. That’s what I did in 3 weeks of travel through the country, a crescendo of emotions and moments that have made this place penetrate deeply in my heart. But it’s not possible to say to have really understood India until you go to Varanasi. Varanasi is a big city, smoggy, full of traffic and congestions. But when you leave the main roads and get lost in the intricate alleys that run alongside the banks of the Ganges, the perspective changes completely, you lose your sense of direction and let you guide only by the calls of vendors, the color of the goods, the music and the songs of those who carry the dead bodies of their beloved to be burned. The Burning Ghat is the core of this ritual: every day 130 deads are accompanied here to favor their passage to Heaven. One of the greatest aspirations for an Indian is in fact to be burned in this place, it’s considered like an highway to get to God, which otherwise requires a long process of reincarnation. In this simple ritual you‘ll find all the Hindi culture: from the division of castes; the use of fabrics and colors that cover the body of the dead; to the rituals that vary based on their role during life. Each single gesture has a deep meaning, tells a story about the people from this country. But it’s only when you look in the eyes of these people, that have crossed India to accompany their loved ones, that the true meaning of this culture is afloat. Their eyes are happy, the atmosphere is that of a party. You’d like to cry, but for them is completely different. And that makes you think a lot and see things in a different way.
In Varanasi, one must stop and observe. Delete his thoughts, get rid of everything and be ready to see something that will never happen in his country. Doing this he’s not going to be impressed, but he’ll be only ready to understand more of this people that is so different from us.