Varanasi: Temples, backpackers and death

The temple town of Varanasi has a booming tourist scene that does not necessarily involve praying on the riverbank or jumping into the water.

A white man in khaki shorts and crumpled grey vest is smoking a beedi by the Ganga, sitting on the steps where a sign painter, talented no doubt, has written “Incredible India” on the concrete steps that have been reclaimed by slippery green moss over time.

The steps disappear into the water. Behind him is a stone wall the size of a fortress that looks like the legacy of a long dead king. Some steps away, a group of people are crying, and looking at a heap of burning firewood where a body is turning into ash.

Welcome to Varanasi.

The centuries-old sunlight-starved stone houses -- if you can call them houses anymore -- behind the ghats have been turned into either hotels for the domestic crowd, or hostels for backpackers, mostly foreigners.

The menus in the restaurants, most of them carved out from old homes that crowd the narrow lanes behind the wide, open riverfront meant for offering prayers to the gods, have chicken and other kinds of meat. Beer is available on order.

Business seems to be good here. The locals take great care to ensure that tourists, especially women, are not disturbed by miscreants. They can roam the streets till late at night without worrying too much about safety, which is an exception in India.

Anti-social elements cannot penetrate this part of town. If seen, they are driven away by the locals immediately because they are bad for business. All that is needed to kick at the stomach of tourism is a white woman screaming on the street after losing her purse to a petty thief.

Houses attached to the old ramparts of the massive ghats that look unclaimed the previous evening turn into bright, colourful hostels for backpackers the next morning. At night, if the weather is nice, parties happen on the terrace of the hostels overlooking the silent Ganga, the moon reflecting on its calm surface.

This is just one of the many faces of Varanasi. Experience it while it lasts.