varanasi

to continue from my last post..
the train journey from calcutta to varanasi was uneventful im happy to say. i took a third class berth (its actually called 2nd class not air-conditioned. .. one of 3  benches with vinal padding.. one above the other suspended by chains from the wall or roof..  mine was the top berth.. which wasnt enough space to sit on without bowing the head but it wasnt too uncomfortable to sleep on..  just had to mind out not to get hair caught in the fans on the ceiling..(ouch)   it cost about 300 rupees..
the west bengal train passed through bihar on the way.. it is a problem.  it struck me as a province that had been under a cloud for a long time.. fallen into the hands of thugs..  which is what i think has happened...about 10000 years ago.. maybe it explains why the buddha spent time around here.  trying to straighten it out.   at any rate its quite a different vibe from west bengal or uttar pradesh.. which was my stop.. in varanasi

busy place .. the station.. over the grand trunk road made famous in kipling....   noise..
there has been a city here for quite a while.. though nowdays is being replaced with concrete.. something the british introduced.. which they learned from the romans.  

probably the less said about varanasi the better..   let it be said that the place is famous as a sacred locus.  it has attracted monks and holy people from time immemorial.. though i gotta say its nothing like as old as some places in australia. in terms of human habitation.
my list of things to do in varanasi was fairly long.. it has taken me 3 weeks to do..   finally yesterday it was time to take a bajaj to the bus stop and head to sonauli the border town and entry to nepal..

i would like to put on record that my visit to varanasi was very rewarding.  i did what i came to do.. met a number of people that i liked.. and left in peace.   its a hard place and i had been warned by a nepalese friend of mine to be careful there..   his advice was good.. i was careful ..   had i not been ...... i may not be sitting in lumbini right now..


***