Varanasi India

This morning I decided to rise early (0530) to head down to the river and take a boat out to view the early morning activities taking place on the steps leading down to the water. The air was foggy and hazy and even with the increasing visibility as the sun came up the light was filtered through the haze of fog and smoke giving an air of mystery and enchantment. Thousands of pilgrims and religious devotees from all corners of India visit Varanasi to perform rituals of devotion on the great Mother Ganges. Tourists are here to witness the rituals in all their peculiar glory and try to make sense of what it is we are witnessing. Everything from the public cremation of the dead to the morning immerson in the chilly waters of the Ganges. Making sense of it all is more than I can pull off but it sure makes for an exciting and colourful environment!! India is in the midst of the wedding season right now. In the early evening the streets are blocked by huge wedding parades with an assortment of hired supporters accompanying the bridegroom and his family. Musicians, fireworks "specialists", rice throwers and the most peculiar of all, a group of men women and children carrying flourescent light bulbs (tubes) balanced on a platform on their heads!! The power source for this is a noisy generator pulled on a cart behind the procession. There is a real sense of carnival in the early evening and sights that just have to be seen to be believed!!
Many of the foreigners are here for 6-12months to study music, Hindi or Sanskrit or all of the above. It seems that the schools in Varanasi are particularly well known.
In a conversation with one of the chatty vendors here I heard about an ashram at the southern end of the river. I met the yoga teacher who owns and runs the ashram and decided to try his yoga this afternoon. I practised on his dusty rooftop overlooking the Ganges with two other women. Although the air is never completely free from haze it's still dramatic to have the sun set behind us and see the full moon rise over the river and in the background an orchestra of sounds from the settlement right below us. Oh yeah...and dust!!! At least he had yoga mats!
Tomorrow morning another early start to join the class at 0700 at the Sri Mandira Ashram