Day 36: Allahabad

Today we had an early start for a sunrise boat ride up the Ganges. The sunrise boat ride, was much better than the sunset, simply because the sun was rising in front of the Varanasi banks, showing off some of its true beauty. As we made our way up the river, we passed by another cremation site. It is interesting that they burn all these bodies by the river, dump most of the ash in the river and then there are people washing themselves and clothes downstream. There were also many people washing a lot of clothes in the river, as if there is a company that will wash your clothes in the river for you. Very different from my dry cleaners back in the states.we then floated back down the river and had a drummer and sitar player play for us the whole way back. I really love the sound of a sitar and was kind of disappointed that I had yet to see one played while I have been in India, but Yash surprised us with some great musical entertainment. I got a good video of it, I will try to upload it to YouTube later.

Since the Maha Kumbh Mela is going on right now, there are three main ceremonies that go on within the three month long festival. The second one is on the 25th, three days away. We took a bus to the city to take part in the celebrations. Yash has only been in the Ganges once and has never been to Allahabad, so this is going to be a great experience for him as well. The spot where the celebration takes places is where three rivers meet: Ganges, Yamuna, and the Saraswati, which is an underground river. This meeting point is known as the Triveni Sangam, however, the name of the river is still called the Ganges.

One thing about this celebrations is that it brings in over 40 million people from around the world. Many of the people from India have never seen a foreigner in person before, so many people were excited to see us, many of the were asking to take pictures with us. It was similar to when I was in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt.

Bathing at the Triveni Sangam during this time is seen as a very religious thing for the Hindus. I was honored to be able to join Yash and the other Hindus in the river. We didn't see but one other caucasian in the whole festival, so I think it's safe to say that I was the only one that went into the river. I don't consider myself a reborn Hindu or anything, but it was an irreplaceable experience that I will never forget. I was a little skeptical of going completely underwater at first, for fear of getting sick, but, like most of the doubtful moments I have had on this trip, I just asked myself, did you really come all this way, to a place where most people dream about, and hesitate?

Today was actually my last day with this tour group. While I am booked for a 28 day tour, it is split into two different tours. So some of the people in the group are just doing the northern part. It really has felt like I have been in India for longer than two weeks, but I guess that is because I have seen so much in so little time. In the past month or so I have seen more than some people see in a life time and this is not even the tip of the iceberg. It will be sad to say goodbye to those I have experienced India for the first time with, but I can't travel with everyone forever. On the other hand, when one door is closed another one is opened, in my case, often two. There will be another group awaiting us in Kochi; all new stories, homelands, and backgrounds for me to explore.

I have seen pictures and heard some stories of southern India, but experience is the only way to truly know, so I have no clue what to expect. Only time will tell and anything is possible.

RIP Mary Bailey (6/10/21 - 2/17/13) love you, miss you. You are are my strength and inspiration.