When I first mentioned that I wanted to go to Varanasi, one friend insisted I do it, another warned me against it. "Too intense," he said. "Overwhelming." So I kept postponing. On my latest trip to India, though, I finally went and understood why both were right. It is totally overwhelming in that way that so many Indian cities are--the cacaphony of traffic, the mob of people and cows jamming into too narrow streets. But the reason so many of them are there lends a powerful, spiritual cast to the city. Varanasi is considered the holiest city in India, and it is thought that if you're cremated there, you skip the cycle of reincarnation and go straight to the favored next place. Because of that demand, cremations go on 24 hours a day. Far from being gruesome, though (particularly if you respectfully stay far enough away), you can feel the spiritual pull from these ceremonies and the wishes of families sending their loved ones on to a better life.
All take place on ghats, the steps on the bank leading down to the river Ganges which you should travel by small rowboat as the sun comes up, gliding silently past residents wading into the river to bathe and purify themselves in the river known as Mother Ganga's holy water. Just before sunset, the river is the place to gather again, either at a seat on the Dashashwamedh Ghat, or preferably in another small boat just in front of the ghat to observe the Ganga aarti, a synchronized, choreographed (some, to be fair, say too choreographed) ritual performed by chanting priests in saffron robes to honor the river, Lord Shiva, the sun, fire and the universe itself. It's quite a dramatic production with clanging cymbals, movements with flaming lamps and again, a powerful spirituality, even if you know nothing about the rituals or the Hindu religion. Even better, if Pallavi Shah of Our Personal Guest organizes the Varanasi experience, you'll have a better quality boat and musicians to serenade you on an excursion up the river as well, allowing you to reflect on what you've just seen in a much calmer environment than the human stampede that follows the aarti's conclusion.
While in the city, there is only one place to stay, Nadesar Palace, the 19th century palace built by the East India Company and later the home of the maharaja that became a 10 room hotel several years ago managed by Taj Hotels. The suites are spacious, filled with period antiques and the maharaja's art collection and face grounds of manicured gardens, mango orchards and fields of marigolds and jasmine that you can tour by horse drawn carriage. It's all very Raj with black and white marble floors, a curving central staircase, iron fourposter beds, Persian rugs, mirrors framed in Venetian glass. And at night, dinner by the pool in which votive candles float. A very calming finish to an extremely stimulating day.
The best way to go: arrangements by Our Personal Guest and & Beyond India
Getting to Varanasi will involve going through New Delhi. Stay at the opulent Leela Palace which is conveniently located in the quiet diplomatic quarter, has beautiful rooms, an exceptional Indian restaurant Jamavar and a branch of New York's Le Cirque in case you're in the mood for familiar dishes with an Indian accent. Leela's hotel in Mumbai is also very near the new airport--helpful due to the often middle of the night arrivals and departures from western countries-- and with much sharper decor than you'd expect in that location plus an outdoor swimming pool for relaxing and branches of those two excellent restaurants.
