India

ON THE RIGHT SIDE IN ORANGE CLOTH .TWO BODIES AWAIT  CREMATION..

CONSTANT CREMATIONS TAKING PLACE..A NEW FIRE IS READY TO BE LIT.

THE GHATS AT VARANASI...

NON STOP CREMATIONS ON ALL LEVELS..

Add caption

Varanasi : Uttar Pradesh.

.Varanasi.. A most interesting destination and one that is extremely religious to the Hindu people.Varanasi is for most the destination to complete their life, for it is here that they will be cremated in one of the many cremation sites along the banks of The sacred Ganges River.
 Varanasi is extremely hot at this time  24 hours a day..so much so that it is difficult to be out in the sun for too long only possible in early morning or late evening for any long period of time. A walk through" The Ghats" The area by the river where the cremations are constantly happening is quite an experience. Where I am staying organises a walking tour that includes a very informative look at "the Ghats" and also a boat trip on the Ganges and passing by many of the cremation sites. Here we see the funeral and cremation process from the river..where the body wrapped in yellow / orange cloth and ribbon is carried down to the river followed by family and friends of the departed.and here it is immersed in the river before before being carried back to its designated area covered with the special "sandalwood" and set alight. The wood id apparently covered with a type of ghee or butter to accelerate the ignition process of the fire. The Sandalwood is chosen as the wood to be used so as to avoid the smell of the burning body..The purchase of the wood is tightly controlled by certain families and I am told that it is a very expensive part of the cremation process for a poor family. The body is cremated on a certain level designated by the river depending on the Class or caste of the person to be cremated. the shoreline is stacked with huge heaps of sandalwood ready to be sold and used in this constant process.
A part of this long tour is a visit to a place where there is what appears to be a concert type celebration with Music, dancing  soon our boat is surrounded by many boats...then hundreds come to this place where there appears to be at least a half a million people..it is incredibly hot..I buy some water from a most welcomed water seller..I tip one over my head..the releif is instant..it must be at least 46 degrees. This Celebration is called the "Ganga Celebration" (Ganga Aartti) and is a Hindu celebration that is held each night at The Ghats by the sacred River, first started in 1992 and has gathered in huge popularity since at the famous "ghat"of Varanasi  Dashashwamedh  Ghat ceremony and is a worship to the Ganga River and Lord Shiva..
 The next day I prepare to leave Varannasi for Agra.. (I have many photos to attatch soon ) thanks for reading..

India

ALL STEAMED UP AT GHUM RAILWAY STATION..

READY TO GO SOON...!!!

BREAK UP THAT COAL INTO SMALLER PIECES..

STOKE UP THE BOILER.

THE "TOY BLUE TRAIN " OF THE DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY

Darjeeling : West Bengal :

Today i have my train booked for Varanassi from Jaipalguri..but first I must get a share taxi down the mountain to the Railway Station @ Jaipalguri NGP 125 kilometers away..I have decided to leave an hour earlier than needed in case of problems.(This proves to be a good decision.).The morning is a blanket of heavy fog and expect this to make the trip down the mountain even more slower..it is 7.30 AM and my train departs Jaipalguri at 12.05 PM.
As expected the many share jeeps travelling down the mountain and roads are clogged also with bad visibility.. I reach the Station at Jaipalguri not too soon as I find my platform #19 and the 12.05 Rajasthan express pulls in..I really don't have a lot of time as the train just stops here for ten minutes..I am hurrying now as I am traveling class A2 AC. and my.coach is about three quarters of a kilometer up the platform..as I am hurrying the handle breaks on my bag that I am pulling..OH NO..!!! what next..I'm out of puff and I don't  feel as fit as I thought that I was. A kind man sees my predicament and helps me..So good ..as I feel I would not have made it to the end of the platform in time... I find my coach # , my seat #,  and am so pleased to be in out of the extreme heat..so hard after the coolness of the mountains. Here in my berth I find also four Ghurka soldiers of the Indian Defence Force..They are extremely kind and help me when the train arrives early in Varanassi.They wake me as i am sleeping and really don't know where i would have finished up.!!!  The train reaches Varanassi on time at 2 AM..not a good time to arrive and look down the long empty platform and am glad that I have organised a pickup from the Hostel where I am to stay.The pickup arrives at the Railway Station to my releif and in no time am at the hostel "Stops Hostel". This I find is a  good place to stay,  and as I arrive at 2 AM they let me sleep in the  Common Room with air con free...Varanassi is a really very interesting destination also very hot....

India

WOMEN "TEA PICKERS" IN THE MIDST

Darjeeling :  West Bengal.

 Due to bad communications and and a few problems have been rather slow at updating my blog..and now with good communication feel that It is possible.. As mentioned in a previous post my reasons for going up to Darjeeling were a few..The main one being to ride the famous. "Toy Train " of The Darjeeling Himalayan railways and look forward to posting some great pics on here...another reason was to get to a cooler area for awhile  to avoid the extreme temperatures in the south.. Unfortunately after a day in Darjeeling I acquired really bad food poisoning that grounded me " for four days." hence the lack of information that I have been able to post.. The owner of the guesthouse where I was staying helped me immensely in my dire time of need and now am doing my best to rebuild some strength...I will write more in depth about my wonderful ride on the "Blue Train" and all that is involved in doing so.. One other problem that I overlooked was the acclimatisation period in coming to terms with the high altitudes here in Darjeeling.  This excaserbated my predicament at the time.

  .The views from my balcony on some days were spectacular with most of the time due to the altitude it was in the clouds and fog mostly.I was disappointed in the fact that the time that I had allotted for my visit to Sikkim had to be be put off for another time as was still feeling rather weak to travel., also think that the extra few thousand feet in altitude would have been too difficult at the time .I was really surprised at the amazing traffic congestion in Darjeeling and expected the air to be of a better quality...this is due to the what seem like hundreds of "Jeep" share taxis that make the daily runs to Gangtok in Sikkim and to the Main Railway Sation  at(Jaipilguri ) some four hours back down the mountain...while at the station .I also book my onward train ticket to Varanassi for the day after ...more to come soon now that I have good comp...communication..thanks for reading.. and your interest..Darjeeling is famous the world over for its fine teas that are grown here in these high altitudes...Going down to mountain i saw many women "picking Tea" in the mist as I was going down the mountain in my" share taxi".. Also to be seen is a huge military presence that is in these highland regions with big military bases protecting Indians northern borders..

                      WOMEN "TEA PICKERS" IN THE MOUNTAINS OF DARJEELING.

Add caption