UrbanLegends: Sarah Chamberlain, Varanasi and life

Sarah Chamberlain is a traveller, writer and dreamer form Perth, Western Australia. She writes about her imperfect journey around the world and within herself on her blog, SarahSomewhere.com. I have been an avid reader of her blog for some time now, and I knew that her insights into any city in the world would be both revealing and intriguing. Read on to find out why for Sarah, Varanasi in India is not so much a timeless junction of death as a meaningful milestone in her life.

Sarah Chamberlain

What is your favourite city in the world, and why?

My favourite city in the world is Varanasi, India.

When did you first visit the city, and what was your experience like?

I celebrated my 30^th birthday in Varanasi in 2010. My birthday also happens to fall on New Years’ Eve, so we said goodbye to the year, the decade and my twenties in the ciy which is the most holy pilgrimmage site for Hindus and Jains.

I was at a turning point in my life where I was seeking  direction and clarity. I was in the midst of a lot of change after recently recovering from alcoholism and making it through my first sober year.

Some people thought Varanasi was a strange place to celebrate a milestone since it is known for the cremations which take place on the banks of the river, but it was the most alive place I’d ever been.

Female pilgrims excitedly dunked themselves in the blessed river, draped in elaborate, brightly coloured saris while men in loin cloths performed puja (prayer). Morning yoga instruction blared through a loud speaker from ashrams, encouraging their devoted trainees to follow along.

Dhobis twisted coloured sheets high above their heads, bringing them down on large flat stones with a loud “whack!” to remove the grime.

Watching those people go about their morning rituals in one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world gave me a humbling sense of being  a tiny speck in the grand scheme of life.

People had been doing these things for centuries, long before I came into being, and they would continue their rituals long after I was gone.

Varanasi

What is your idea of a perfect day in this city?

The day of my 30^th birthday was pretty perfect. We woke up early and attended a yoga class in a small studio overlooking the Ganges River.

Afterwards, we strolled along the ghats and watched the city come alive.

We visited the burning ghats where cremations were being performed and meandered around bundles of wood being weighed for sale in front of small stores selling incense and other adornments for the dearly departed.

We had a delicious lunch of fragrant curries at ‘Dolphin Restaurant’ on the river. The waiters brought out a galub jamum (Indian dessert) with a candle in it for my birthday. I later found out that my boyfriend had gone to great lengths to ask for a candle and had a lot of trouble explaining it to the baffled staff.

That evening, we took a boat along the river to watch the famous aarti ceremony which takes place every evening in a haze of billowing insence. The bells rang out across the water as the performers raised multi-tiered candelabras above their heads in synchronized patterns. The flames of hundreds of tiny candles flickered like ecstatic dancers in the evening breeze. We bought tiny offerings made from leaves and flower petals and sent them off into the inky blackness of the river.

After the ceremony we were meandering through the backstreets of the chaotic city, dodging cows and auto rickshaws and pilgrims, when suddenly the entire place was plunged into darkness. We huddled at a small snack stand until the power came back on, scared and excited at once.

We had the best time!

Varanasi dhobiwallahs

Do you have a special memory attached to this city, and what is it?

Yes, I do. Like I mentioned, I was looking for a change of direction and greater meaning in my life. Rather than celebrating my 30^th with a party which was all about me, I wanted to do something for someone else, but I didn’t know what.

Then we met Raju. He was the boat rower who took us on a tour of the river and to see the aarti ceremony. He was very kind and humble and gave us a lot of information about Varanasi with some Hindu mythology thrown in. He revered the ‘Mother Ganga’ just as all the other pilgrims did.

After the ceremony we got talking about his life and we learned his wife had recently died of cancer, which is why he didn’t have any children.  We also learned a bit about his life as a boat rower, working for an old man who owned several boats. When I asked him if he would like to buy his own boat some day, he looked at me like I was crazy.

When we asked him how much it would cost, his answer was about equal to what I was earning in a week at that point (and I was not a huge income earner).

So, we decided to give Raju the money for his own boat. He had no idea we were doing it and certainly did not expect anything like that from us. We were just some tourists he took on a tour. But due to his sincerity and kindness, we wanted to do something nice for him. I don’t know if he ever bought the boat, and it really doesn’t matter. I just hope the money helped him and his family in some way after the loss they had suffered.

If you could dedicate a song to this city, which one would it be?

I’d say ‘Amazing Grace’. That trip was a turning point for me and instilled me with a sense of something greater at work in my life. When we give to others, we also receive, and I think I received far more than Raju did on that trip.

If this city was a person, what would he/she be like?

I picture one of the many holy men we saw while we were there wearing colorful clothing and sleeping on the dirty banks of the river. Dishevelled. Wise. Unpredictable.

Holy man in Varanasi

Is there anything you don’t like about this city? (be honest!)

It was tough seeing the street dogs prowling the ghats. They were not in very good shape.

If you could sum up this city in a word, what would it be?

Alive.

If you’d like to follow Sarah on social media, you can find her on Facebook at SarahSomewhere, Instagram @sarahsomewhere and on Twitter @sarah_somewhere