Dancing Naked in the Mist

I remember waking up very early one morning in Varanasi, India. The sky was still dark and the air was terribly cold and crisp but travellers like me had to bear with all that if we would to reach one of the ghats that dotted the Ganges River on time to see the spectacular sunrise. I remember being hustled by the tour guide along the streets of Varanasi, walking through narrow lanes lined with shops. The shops were closed but many people were already up and about and it was no wonder- Varanasi is a holy city where many Hindus throng to. When we reached the ghat, the sun was about to rise but unfortunately, there was a mist and we could not see the sun except for a red tinge in the distance.. It was still an experience though to see throngs of Hindu pilgrims taking their morning bath along the bank of the Ganges despite the cold and to take a boat ride in the Ganges in the morning and to be pestered to buy the wares of peddlers on boats and to release lighted lamps into the Ganges River. The mist that morning was thicker than the normal ones we had back home in Malaysia but not as thick as the one we witnessed while travelling in a train from New Delhi to Lucknow. Buddha was said to have left his palace with Channa and his horse Kanthaka when he was 29 at midnight. Stories had it that the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods to prevent guards from knowing his departure, just like there was a magical mist that enveloped the palace. Never mind the role of the Gods for a moment, I have always been skeptical of the existence of the thick mist that occured during Buddha's Great Departure as the event was called but in India, thick mists do really exist in the north. While travelling from New Delhi to Lucknow, a Buddhist pilgrim had even commented that one could dance naked in the misty field and still not be noticed. Probably, in that kind of situation, one would have a good, comfortable sleep too and even without interference from Gods, one could bulldoze out of the palace. That would really be a great departure! But who in his or her right mind would dance naked in the mist? It would terrible cold!


A misty morning in the Ganges, Varanasi...

Catching a train in India...

Inside an Indian train...

For more of Varanasi, visit Travel Pangs for A Pilgrimage Special!