Our week began and culminated with 2 incredible sunrises. On Sunday morning, we sleepily stumbled into rickshaws at 5:45 AM to head to the Taj Mahal. We were able to beat the crowds and the scorching mid-day heat. In true Indian fashion, we had to experience some sort of chaos before actually getting in! The security line was hectic and extremely unorganized, but it was well worth the wait. The first glimpse of the gigantic marble tomb blew me away. It felt so surreal to finally see something in person that I’ve seen pictures of all of my life. The unimaginable amount of white marble created a peaceful atmosphere amidst all of the obsessive camera snapping. There were some hilariously strange poses! We added our own flavor to the Taj that morning with some sick dance moves to “Watch Me Whip” for our music video. Ben grabbed an intense looking photographer to video us, and we did our moves in the prime photo spot right in front of the Taj. We were expecting lots of stares, but everyone was so focused on taking pictures that few people even noticed us! The detail inside the tomb was mind-blowing; the marble was covered with tiny stones etched into intricate designs. Carly organized an outing to a marble workshop later that day that helped us appreciate the painstaking labor that went into creating all that we saw in the morning.
This morning in Varanasi, we gathered at 4:50 under an amazing moon and star-lit sky for an entirely different kind of sunrise. We headed down to the Assi Ghat for a morning on the Ganges. A Pooja ceremony started the day off on a spiritual note, as we watched Hindu priests perform their daily ritual with prayers, incense, and fire. It feels really special to be present in their spirituality. We then hopped into a boat on the holy water for the first time since being in Varanasi. Our rower had some intense arm strength to be able to lug all 9 of us down the Ganges. His little brother assisted with an adorable smile. As the firey sun rose over the water, more and more of the activity along the Ganges was illuminated. Watching people soak in and drink from the insanely polluted water is a lot to take in. We had our first glimpse of burning bodies, too. The presence of death wasn’t too overwhelming until we rowed past a floating body. We stared and wondered in shock for a while, and then we attempted to process it together. Death is incredibly open and public here, and although it feels uncomfortable, I think it’s so beautiful that it’s fully embraced and acknowledged as a part of life. The Ganges in itself is a strange beast. Although it’s the holiest river in the world, it’s also one of the filthiest and most polluted. It’s hard to see the insane amounts of trash clogging its shores. People are constantly gathered here to wash, bathe, pray, and worship. It makes me realize that different cultures view life in so many different ways. I’m grateful to have my eyes opened to an entirely different mindset.
On a lighter note, we’ve had a great week with internships here in Varanasi. It’s been an awesome opportunity to pursue something that interests us individually. It’s also been refreshing to stay in one place a little longer and become comfortable with the city and our routines. Between the 9 of us, we are studying jewelry making, stone carving, fire dancing, Bollywood dancing, and Ayurveda. They are all such different skills that feel unique to India in their own way, and it’s been really cool to sit and learn from our teachers for a few hours every day. Varanasi feels so different from any other place I’ve been. I’m starting to understand what our contact, Anoop Ji, meant when he said that there’s something unique about Varanasi that can’t be expressed in words. You just have to live and breathe it!
