Let’s start with the more “disturbing” ghat , the one were there are the cremation pyres burning 24 hours a day.
For Hindus it is propitious to be cremated in Varanasi and for this reason many dead are brought here. Furthermore, it is believed that who dies in Varanasi obtains the “moksha”, the escape from cycle of rebirth, and for this reason many elderly people from all over India move to Varanasi waiting for death.

The Ghat is called Manikarnika and was among the first I visited, unintentionally. So I suddenly found myself between the pyres for cremation. From near you can clearly see the bodies so it was a little shocking. Other bodies waiting to be cremated are on the staircase, covered with garlands of orange flowers.
I couldn’t take pictures (unless I was giving a really high donation), but anyway I didn’t feel comfortable doing them. I did the photos later from a boat.

A pyre. I cut the right side of the picture because there was a part of the body and it was therefore a bit disturbing, other than perhaps disrespectful.

The higher the caste of the deceased, the higher the pyre is positioned.

Varanasi is the city of Shiva, probably the oldest and most popular Hindu god. The members of some Shaivism sects go around naked or half-naked, covered only with a gray-blue ash.

An holy man.

Sometimes they are completely naked.

If in the rest of India sacredness can be felt everywhere and often you find ourselves in the middle of ceremonies or celebrations, in Varanasi it is practically daily life. The city has over 700 temples, but the most revered place is the river Ganges. Since the rising of the sun the believers go to the shore to pray and bathe in its waters, considered sacred. Every evening, after sunset, there are two ceremonies with fire, called Aarti, in honor of the river. And every time there is a big audience, also because Varanasi is a pilgrimage destination for Hindus, who feel the duty to visit it at least once in their life.

This is the aarti ceremony at the Assi Ghat, the last Ghat to the south.
After the ceremony we all went to greet “Mother Ganga”, some drinking its water, some (like also me) offering a little flame that floated away among other flames in the night.

This is instead the cermony at Dashashwamedh Ghat, where there was a bigger audience, most of them on the boats in front of the ghat.

I loaded a short video on Youtube of this ceremony: Video of Aarti ceremony

The Jain ghat, with the Jain symbol of the swastika. Varanasi is also one of the most sacred cities for Jainism.

The Munshighat, where since few years that building on the left has been converted into a luxury hotel.

People on a ghat.

The Kedar ghat, on top of which is a Hindu temple.

People walking. It is not easy to move around the city because there is always a lot of traffic and often even when walking you need to be in trafficated street. I uploaded another short video on Youtube that shows the traffic: Video Varanasi traffic.

Stand.

Muslim little girl.

Family.

Strange.

In the narrow streets of the old city.

People in the old city.

The typical cow that walks through Indian streets, in this case also narrow.

About ten kilometers from Varanasi, that is one of the most sacred places for Hindus and Jains, there is also one of the most sacred places for Buddhists: Sarnath . It is at the Sarnath deer park, where there is now that big stupa, that Buddha gave in 527 BC his first sermon to his five friends and followers, shortly after he reached enlightenment. That sutra is the basis of all Buddhist philosophy and explains the four noble truths, namely that there is pain, there is a reason why there is pain (that is the desire and attachment), it is possible to overcome pain eliminating desire and attachment and finally how to do it (with the noble eightfold path).
Already a few centuries after the death of Buddha this place became very important, with several Buddhist monasteries and temples of which only ruins remain today. It is here that was found the capital with the four lions that became the symbol of India.

And finally, you have recognized it, the Taj Mahal in Agra. I had already visited it twenty-three years ago… ehhh time passes!
One of the greatest architectural masterpieces in the world, it is a marble mausoleum built between 1632 and 1653 at the request of the Mughal Shah Jahan for his beloved Persian wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. About 20,000 people worked on its construction.

There are other photos of the Taj Mahal and of Delhi, where I am now, but I stop here. Cheers from the Indian subcontinent and see you in two or three weeks for something completely different…

Alappuzha (also called with its former name Alleppey) is the most common place to start a tour of the “backwaters”, the series of canals, rivers and ponds that cover a big part of Kerala territory.

Leaving for a 24-hour tour in the backwaters. In my case it was a small houseboat with only one room to sleep at night. I was therefore the only passenger, carried around by two self-proclaimed captains. Usually houseboats have more rooms, such as the one you see on the left in the picture.

The upper part of the boat. After the sunset I slept here for most of the night, in the cool under the stars.

Houses in the backwaters.

A bus-boat, used by locals to move around the backwaters, stops in a small village with a church.

Children inside a bus-boat.

Canal wrapped in “impressionist” vegetation.

Family.

Another houseboat surrounded by the omnipresent splendid coconut trees (or palm trees, for the most picky). The name Kerala comes from “kera”, the coconut tree.

Varkala beach. It’s surrounded by a shell of red rocks about twenty meters high. Crowded all around the precipice on the top there are small shops, restaurants and cafes.
It is called “Papanasham”, that means it washes away sins and for this reason is a place of pilgrimage. One bath and all the sins of life are washed away forever! I don’t remember I’ve ever sinned but I did few baths anyway, you never know. A little sin can happens to everybody.
It’s kind of a hippy place, with almost everyone passionate about yoga, massages, meditation and similar things that I personally don’t like to do. However, although there was no such affinity of interests, it’s the place where I stayed longest until now, over 10 days, maybe because it’s the most “backpacker” place I have been on this trip. Time passes, but my soul will always be that.

Kathakali dancer, inside a temple. Kathakali is the traditional dance of Kerala. It is a combination of theater, dance, song and music. The dancers prepare for several years to master gestures and facial expressions before being ready for a performance.

Eagle.

Wandering around Varkala with the scooter I met two more “Elephant festival” (Pooram Gajamela) on two different days, so it seems this is the period they are celebrated. The elephant is an animal much loved by Indians and not surprisingly one of the most popular deities, Ganesha, has the head of an elephant.

Parade of floats, near Edava.

Procession with people dressed and made up like deity.

A lagoon near Kappil.

Yellow advertising wall.

People and colors.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the Communist Party is the first party in Kerala since several generations.

The lighthouse on the beach of Kovalam, where I’m since few days. In general I like it less than Varkala because it’s less characteristic, it’s just a tourist place.

Men.

At the old harbor of Kovalam. People expect the arrival of fishing boats to buy fish.

Fishermen.

Eagles fishing.

A fisherman.

Tomorrow I leave Kerala and I fly to the most mystical city of India, and therefore of the world… see you soon!

Yes, maybe Maldives is not the place you would most expect from that proletarian fighter you are used to know me, but as I said in the first post about this last trip I have a bonus of 1250 euros to use in flights and due to the relative proximity to Sri Lanka it seemed logical to make a short trip. Moreover, since few years there is a new legislation that allows guesthouses and small hotels, so it is not necessary to go in luxury resorts. And anyway, don’t stress me, it is true that is a posh place but I wanted to visit it anyway.

I’ve been there for a week. Since I organized well before going, it did not cost me an astronomical price, although obviously compared to Sri Lanka it is much more expensive.

The Maldives is an archipelago of almost 1200 islands, mostly of them very small, of which about 200 are inhabited. The inhabitants are about 400,000, coming mainly by migrations from Sri Lanka and South India around the fifth century. From the eleventh century, they converted to Islam, becoming a sultanate. In 1887 it became a protectorate of the Perfidious Albion (or UK), until independence in 1965. In the following decades the country was governed in a totalitarian manner by President Gayoom, who prevented any opposition until 2008, when, after continuous protests, he had to accept direct presidential elections that were won by opposition leader Nasheed. In 2012, Nasheed was overthrown by a coup, supported, as almost always by the coup d’etat, by the United States and in this moment there is a confused and precarious democracy.

Since the two main parties are strongly Islamic, so is legislation. For example, no one can be given citizenship if it is not of Muslim faith, tourists can only go to some specific beaches (called “bikini beach”) if they do not want to swim fully dressed and alcohol is not for sale (apart from within some resorts).

Apart from Malé, the capital, near to the airport, I visited two islands: Thoddoo, north-west of Malé, and Maafushi, a little south of Malé.

In Thoddoo. And how could I not love it? This spectacular sea, from emerald green to light blue is due to the coral reef that creates a sort of natural pool.

Orsi, an Hungarian girl, reading a book that at least from the title seems interesting. She took a photo of me on the swing in the sea that was a success on Facebook.

Women on scooter.

The capital of Maldive, Malé.

A fishermen boat in Malé port.

A beach in Maafushi, the other island I visited. In general, I liked it less than Thoddoo because it is less green and they are building monstrous concrete structures. However, it offers more activities and has many bars and restaurants.

Maldivian women go for a swim in a non-bikini beach.

As I said, they swim fully dressed.

Sea.

Ladies walking.

After being soaked in turquoise water for a week, I left Maldives and I flew to: Kerala in India. It is the third time I come in India. The first time, in 1996, for a short trip to the north and the second time, between 2013 and 2014, for a journey of almost 6 months to the south, most of the time lazing in Goa.

This time, as I said, I came to Kerala, a state in south-west. Nicknamed “the God’s Own Country” has a very ancient history and it is mentioned already in 3000 BCE in Sumerian registers as the “Garden of Spices”. The Kerala spice trade attracted all the great powers: Babylonians, Assyrians, Arabs, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Chinese, Romans, etc … and local literature of the time tells of the Roman ships arriving in the port of Muziris (of which it is unknown the precise location, probably it was near Kochi) full of gold and leaving full of pepper.

It is also called the “Red stronghold” because is often governed by the Communist party that here has the majority since several decades. And the results are evident: higher literacy rates in India (over 90%), lower corruption, lower poverty, lower economic disparities, and in general a lower social hierarchy that in India is generally still very strong due to the caste heritage. There is also a great religious tolerance, in fact with the Hindu majority peacefully cohabit Muslims and Christians.

Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi.These nets are stationary and are lowered and raised using a weight system. It is very likely that the name Kochi (also known as Cochin) is due to these nets, “Co-chin” (“like in China”).

Other Chinese fishing nets. Fort Kochi has always been a very important port, point of passage of sailors from all over the world.

Inside Fort Kochi many old houses have been converted into guesthouses, restaurants, shops etc… This was my room and I didn’t understand the reason many tourists came to take pictures of the house from the street. I asked the owner and he replied “Don’t you know?! This is the house where Vasco de Gama died 500 years ago!” (Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer, was the first European to reach India by sea, in 1498, circumnavigating Africa and making the crossing from Malindi. He died of malaria on December 24, 1524 during his third trip to India).
The owner didn’t know in which room he died (actually I checked after and it is not totally sure he died in this house), but it may have been this room. So, an historic room: not only probably Vasco de Gama died there, but also slept (thankfully awakening) Dekaro! And now I give you a prophecy: in 500 years the reason the tourists will take pictures will be because the good Dekaro once slept there. Eeeeeeehhhh… Ok, ok, I admit that I was a little carried away by enthusiasm. You, however, always merciless, never that give me a joy.

A factory where clothes, mostly coming from hotels, are washed by hand.

A lady is ironing with a heavy old iron powered by coal.

Girls.

In India it is easy to find yourself in the middle of religious festivals. In this case it was the “Pooram Gajamela”, the festival of elephants, where a (poor) elephant is carried in procession through the streets and alleys of the city accompanied by music of drums and trumpets

Believers wait for the passage of the elephant, to which they will offer coconuts, bananas and other fruit.

Elephant eye.

Family looks at the passing elephant.

Children.

Since the two men on the back of the pachyderm were dangerously poised, they often grasped to the electricity wires. No much desire to live that day.

It seems that touching the elephant’s belly brings good luck. A belly-hit against the wall a little less.

Child behind the elephant.

A short visit to Kerala’s comrades.

Ok, see you in two or three weeks for new stories and photos of Kerala and next place, still in India.