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Opinion preaching Ganga dipper
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Opinions received : 3
Lovely Gentleman  

My main target, as I have mentioned a couple of times before, was to get as much information and stories out of the Banarasi people to understand them better and perceive Varanasi through their eyes. Also, as I established before, due to my lack of Hindi the communication was a little tough.  I could not strike up a normal conversation (small talk) without looking like a dog in heat - desperate, needy and unsure of how to go about business. So I decided to use the conventional “interview” method. This worked out well for me, it was the most practical way to get them to talk to me. If you read my previous articles you might be wondering how I communicated without understanding most of the conversation. Well, the answer to that is simple yet genius – I record every single conversation I had with anyone, it was easy since I was going with the formal interview method, I had the liberty to pull out any gadget I pleased. So I get a gist of what the local is trying to tell me and build on that, and then come back home and go through it with a translator(The translator being any one of my shudh hindi speaking peers)

Deshchand - 22 - Moongphali waala

Like I was saying before, since I was “Interviewing” them I could pull out my phone and also my camera without thinking twice about it. Most everyone gave me permission to use these devices in my “Interview”. Yes, I  am not getting the same genuine-ness that random small talk gives you but I did the best I could.

C. K. Nirmale - 65 - Runs a Silk Saree Shop 

Although most of my small talk attempts went down the drain (into the Ganga), I did have a couple of successful attempts. Most of them were with Auto drivers. Explanation – Whenever we travelled in an auto, I’d usually be one of the two privileged people who get to ride in the front with the auto driver and the first thing to do is to make yourself comfortable, one arm holding on to something and the other resting behind the auto driver. This position itself brings you closer to the driver, makes you feel like you’ve been his friend for years, sipping beedis and eating paan together over the years, and conversations are very easy in this position. Even if you mess up what you want to say, chances are the auto driver couldn’t even hear most of what you said, so he just gets the gist of it and goes with the flow, WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR ME.
One conversation which was squeezed out during this intimate autodriver – passenger bonding session was about the Holy Babas. I asked him something about a Baba, and that got him talking about the fraud Babas found in the ghats and how they sit there all day waiting for naïve tourists to fall into their traps and exploit the tourists’ gullible souls. He then moved on to the true Babas, who apparently can be differentiated from the frauds. How? Well, to distinguish a fraud baba from a real one, one must observe the eyes of the Baba after dark. True Babas’ eyes will glow while the fake ones’ wont.
Stories like these just wouldn't have come out of an interview, so I am really glad I had these bonding sessions with the autowaalas.
There have been instance of small-talk which did not include autowaalas. This happens when people approach me and strike a conversation with me. This was so convenient, and I became really happy when anyone approached me. The funny thing is, a lot of people did come up to me and ask about me. I don’t know if this was due to the friendliness of the Banarasi people, or if they wanted to talk to the random weird looking dude in the Ghats. Whatever it was, I am glad they talked to me. Even though I couldn’t record these conversations they were still an eye opener. It was interesting to observe to the kinds of questions they asked me, and their reactions to my answers.

Matharani from Kolkata - first time in Varanasi - group of 14
Most elegant dreadlock-ed person I have seen.

The Kashi Effect.

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As I mentioned in the introduction most of my time was spent in the Ghats, and I still felt that I haven't spent enough time there. The sights you see there are unlike any other. You would be expecting a typical Hindu pilgrimage atmosphere, but it is completely different.
There are around 80  Ghats in Varanasi, each one totally different from the other. They have their own purposes and functions, also each one has a life and history of its own. A question I asked the people I talked to was which Ghat they were most close to, and their answer came out quicker and with more confidence than any other replies I got. Every one has their own Ghat, and if they do dip the Ganga, they will go to their Ghat.
The Ganga plays a huge part in the lives of the people of India, not just Varanasi. People from all over come here to dip their sins away into the holy river. The faith you witness is awe inspiring. It's amazing to observe the people and their relation with the River. When they enter the river, for them, its like entering a totally different world, with just them and the river, nobody else. The closeness to Siva, the belief in God and the river, their sin-free'ness everything can be seen when a devotee goes in for a dip or a small pooja. I wanted to experience this particular feeling, although I wouldn't grasp the feeling and the holiness as much as them, I wanted to feel a small essence of what they were going through, so I dipped in the Ganga, twice. I felt good. I felt free. Im being overdramatic, but yes, I did feel something, and that something was a pretty nice feeling which has given me the little glimpse into their lives like I wanted.
But the freedom and openness that some people have was something that was a little difficult for me to grasp. Even though I took a dip in, I felt like all eyes were scanning me for some weird reason, a small sense of insecurity was present. I was going into the river half naked and even though there was a sense of awe there was also a tinge of vulnerability.
After that I saw the attachment the people have with the river through a different lens, when they do their poojas or their daily dips, they are putting themselves in a completely vulnerable position, with many curious, leering, amazed eyes on them, BUT they would be totally oblivious to all these antics as their focus is not in this superficial reality in which we live, they are in a completely different place.