Watching Pilgrims Search for Enlightenment in India

Along the 1,500-mile course of the River Ganges (from Nepal’s high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal) the three-mile stretch within this city is held in the greatest reverence by Hindus for the spiritual significance and mystical qualities of its waters.

A pilgrimage to Varanasi, historic contemporary of Thebes and Nineveh and perhaps the oldest living city on earth, is the profound desire of every Hindu. They come to meditate at one of the city’s 1,500 temples, bear oblations to their gods and ancestors or seek spiritual guidance from holy men at one of 80 riverside ghats.

And every devout Hindu knows he may release his soul from the cycle of rebirth and find eternal liberation from earthly evils by being cremated on its banks or by having loved ones carry his ashes to the sacred waters.

Every dawn thousands of pilgrims surge through the narrow streets of Varanasi, undaunted by camel-cow-rickshaw gridlock, toward their destination, a chosen ghat (stairway) leading down to the river.

Here to there: Fly Pan Am, British Airways, KLM or Lufthansa to Delhi; any number of domestic airlines to New York’s JFK airport for a change to Air India’s flight. Indian Airlines flies Delhi-Varanasi.

How long/how much? Give it two days for the town’s considerable sights and temples, more for a half-day visit to nearby Sarnath, where the Buddha preached his first sermon after his enlightenment. Lodging prices are moderate to low and dining is mostly inexpensive.

A few fast facts: The Indian rupee was recently valued at about 12 to the dollar. October through March are the coolest and driest times for a visit; July and August are monsoon time.

Getting settled in: Hotel Taj Ganges (Nandesar Palace grounds; $45 U.S. double) matches its regal surroundings with a handsome pink-marble building, lovely gardens, swimming pool and large rooms with air conditioning and color TV. It’s the best in town, with a shopping arcade, where bargaining is called for, and an excellent dining room.

The Clarks Varanasi (The Mall; same price as Hotel Taj Ganges) is a good alternative in the top category, busy lobby with a few fine antiques, moderate-size rooms done in desert colors and wicker furniture. Great looking American bar with soft lights and just the right ambiance. It also has a small pool and a separate building as a yoga center.

The Hotel de Paris (The Mall; $21) is a century-old establishment, with large but simply furnished rooms, and raj decor in the lobby and public areas. This is the only hotel we’ve seen recently that offers a snake charmer, an elephant ride and an astrologer on request, preferably ordered separately.

Regional food and drink: Dal punchmel , five kinds of lentils cooked with herbs and spices, is a Varanasi specialty, while malaai kafta is a dish of cottage-cheese dumplings stuffed with dried nuts and stewed in cashew gravy.

A drink we grew very fond of in India is fresh lime juice with soda water, salt and pepper. Indian beer is excellent but expensive; Limon and Thums Up are the soft drinks of choice.

Moderate-cost dining: Hotel dining rooms are your best bet except in the very largest Indian cities; the Taj Ganges’ Mendap restaurant is one of the city’s finest. Several meals here, starting with breakfast, give an excellent selection of Indian dishes. Try the idli sambar , rice-flour cakes with vegetable gravy, or poori bhaji , puffed bread discs stuffed with spiced potatoes in a red sauce. Both will start your day with a bang.

Dinner-time brought on a Punjab specialty of saag gosht , which is pieces of lamb cooked with pureed spinach, tomatoes, ginger and other spices. Paneer lababddor , cottage cheese bits simmered in curry, was marvelous.

A small group plays Indian music through the dinner hour in Clarks Hotel dining room, which has a rather austere setting but wonderful food. Select from bhuna gosht , marinated mutton braised with spices, or machli mughlai , a Mogul dish of fish in a moderately hot sauce. They also do excellent tandoori chicken and other meats.

On your own: Start with a visit to Benares (Varanasi’s former name) Hindu University and the nearby New Vishwanath Temple.

The university, one of Asia’s largest, was founded to nurture the art, culture, music and writings of ancient Hinduism, which was free of caste and creed stigmas. The university’s museum has a superb collection of Indian art and sculpture, while the massive white-marble temple is one of the most beautiful and impressive buildings in the city.

Bharat Mata Temple is one of the most interesting temples; it houses not gods, goddesses and shrines but a gigantic relief map of India in white marble.

Indian geography falls into place quickly here as you look down on such places as the Khyber Pass (now in Pakistan), where Alexander the Great met one of his few defeats.

Dedicated to the goddess of power and the consort of Lord Shiva, 18th-Century Durga Temple is one of the most important and architecturally interesting temples in Varanasi. It is also called the monkey temple for the horde of rascals that roam the place, their antics a monumental nuisance at best.

By all means drive the six miles to Sarnath for its archeological museum and Buddhist historical shrines. And surely engage a guide and boatman for that early morning ride along the Ganges bank, a most enlightening and memorable outing.

For more information: Call the Government of India Tourist Office at (213) 380-8855 or write to 3550 Wilshire, Blvd., Suite 204, Los Angeles 90010, for a brochure on Varanasi, city map, hotel list, map of India and booklet about Indian food. Ask for the Varanasi package.