Journey To Varanasi

Delhi seems closer than it was last time. After a tea with GST, on to a backstreet of Varanasi, Untouched by authority; ignored more by memory than darkened by amnesia. A huge black cow lazes about, like a Moghul monarch blocking half the street. It won’t let the OLA pass. At the hoary-holy sanctum, my poor drops of milk from a paper cup pour on to the Lord’s cosmic crown. Ganga, here, is a very old Benares fraying at the edges, laid out in the open. So still, like samana, the balancing prana. From a boat I watch how human flesh fuels the firewood at the Harichandra ghat.. Benares eyes Harichandra rather darkly. Then, the Ganga Arati at 6.30 Their off-white attire. The huge lamps they hold and draw patterns with, in the air. Lines with the solemn predictability of a Ravi varma . Ganga is a new Miss world by now. At the Manikarnika ghat too, bodies dutifully burn. In the dark, Death sparkles like huge fireflies; pampered by pundits and Sanskrit I lie in an OYO at Godowlia so ill. So close to mukti. A godsend of a doctor At Matha Anandamayi hospital queers my pitch.. One of a tribe long extinct in Serpent town, his fees: ‘whatever you please’. I remember hospitals back in Kerala. Thank god, I was not in one there. Else, I would have hit hell by now, looking for money. Sure, the ‘path to hell is paved with good intentions’ ( of corporates and false swamis) Notes: Varanasi: It is also called Benares and Kashi, One of the holiest of cities in India, known for its temple, by the Ganges, dedicated to Lord Shiva. OLA : The taxi cab app, OYO : An app to find hotel rooms. Serpent town : Trivandrum, Samana : One of the five pranas(breaths), the equalizing prana.