Vow pankaj..! The sunrise looks superb..! Varanasi is indeed beautiful man..

that b/w sunrise pic is too good.

Thank you Kashif, Rachit and Devil glad you like the pics...!

Devil yes there are a lot of foreign tourists who visit Varanasi during the winter months from November to February... post Feb you see lesser number of foreighners because of the onset of summer.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

A heartwrenching day at the widow ashram





Day Four Phase II - VARANASI


Watching the movie -- WATER awakened my curiosity in knowing more about the life of widows living in the ashrams of Varanasi. I had made up my mind to explore and know more about the way they lead their life doing time awaiting the final moment of their last breath. I knew that the Nepali Temple had one such ashram.
Talking to him I seeking permission and expressed interest in seeing the widow ashram, to which he happily agreed. Walking our way in the campus, behind the hundred and eighty year old temple was a newly constructed building. It looked dark and dingy. The walls were painted blue, that made me feel very blue. The old looking staircase lead to the first floor which had some sarees hung on the clothesline drying in the air of remorseful silence of the ashram. My wandering eyes were soaking in the sites of this unbelievable place. I spotted three ladies working in the courtyard next to a room where the head priest was chanting some prayers in a puja. The ladies were also praying. One of them was chanting with beads, the others were spinning the oil lamp wicks out of cotton. I observed that it was Navratra so the ladies were preparing for the festival and puja, but because of their age and low physical strength they were dozing for a couple of minutes getting a power nap after every five minutes of work done. I could not help but smile at their unique and cute way of working. It was peaceful and serene. I loved watching the ladies doing their chores, there was an amazing sense of contentment and happiness in their aura. I was touched by their purity and simplicity. The head priest continued chanting the Sanskrit shlokas and mantras, this was going to last till mid afternoon, so I decided to leave and come back another time that day.

Little known was not enough..... so I decided to go again the following day... and spend some more time with the motherly ladies at the Nepali widow ashram - Varanasi... blog coming soon - A day at the widow ashram - Part II

Trans Himalaya

Indi Motorcycle Diary phase one 8000km phase two 2400km total 10400km. Trans Himalaya starting tomorrow.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

A heart-wrenching day at the widow ashram - Part II





Another interesting piece of information he gave was about the caste system He said the caste system that was originally created was determined by the karya (action) that one took. All the four castes exist within the limits our own body. Depending upon the action taken during the day one would change time to time from a Brahmin, to Kshatriya, to Vanik or to Shudra according to the kind of work done by him/ her using various body parts. The body parts used by an individual to do a particular task would make him what we call Brahmin, Vanik, Shudra or Kshatriya. So we all are all these depending on the task we are doing at a particular point in time.


When we use our Head we are a Brahmin
When we use our Arms we are Kshatriya
When we use our body from Neck to Navel it makes us Vanik
Using all parts below the Navel makes us Shudra


In accordance with the things we do we change our caste within the limits of our own bodies. So back then there was no discrimination in people with regards to caste or creed. But, over time, the filtered information and convenience of belief created the caste barriers dividing the society into these unwanted caste segments.




Entering the lunch area we had to sit down on the floor. One side of the lunch hall was occupied by the priests, children learning Sanskrit and myself, the other side was occupied by the widowed ladies. We had a simple lunch of roti sabji, dal and chawal. It was a good meal I shared with the mothers and grandmothers I would say it is the experience of being with them that will forever be alive in my memories.

Post lunch I wanted to see where and how they live. Taking a walk into the dark and dingy place I saw rooms that were not more than 8x6 or 10x8 in size. Some of the rooms that small were occupied by two ladies. From the pictures you can see. No words can describe pathos better. They had minimal things to name as possessions. A LPG gas and some vessels and a pair of clothes to wear were all that I saw there. It was hot in the rooms with no light, no fan. I was thinking to myself how these ladies will survive the heat through the summer.


They abstain from everything comforting including their own hair, relatives, possessions, loved ones and above all the desire to live. They have mastered their minds and learned to control it. Who else could be more holy than these spiritual living legends! They are truly happy in their condition doing time, waiting to embrace death. I bow to thee holy ladies.


I was sitting down on the floor talking a grandmotherly lady, when suddenly from behind I felt an embrace on my shoulder and then on my head.. someone was playing with my hair! I did not turn back to look instead I continued the conversation with the old lady. I realised she was enjoying the feel of my hair. As widows are not allowed to keep hair they shave off their hair time and again. They are deprived of such simple pleasures. I decided to let her cherish the moments.

I'm lost of words .. seeing the Ashram posts..

This is some good story telling .. and really moving photographs man...apart from the affect it has on readers here, I can only imagine how it might have moved you when you met them in person..

Regarding Day 3. 'Nautanki' is not an unfamiliar story. however the venue truly is shocking.

Day 5: It was indeed an upclose presentation of the Ashram. I know the existance of the Ashram and thru you pictures got to know better.

One piece of advise. When you are witnessing try to keep your objectivity intact. It is easy to take sides quickly if you are gullible. But there are never enough perspectives to conclusively come to an opinion. From you blog I can see that you are indeed being an obverver with an objective thinking. Which is what I believe is the role you intend playing. Keep it up.

Seriously an extremely touching story Pankaj.. Reading this could make anybodys eyes wet..!!
If so much expressions & feelings can come from your words, couldnt imagine how you must have felt actually being there & personally experiencing it. Feel sad for those ladies but seriously a great salute to them. They have something, which we should learn from. Living each moment with a heavy heart, waiting for their last breathe, is something none of us can even imagine.
Hats Off to you Pankaj for making us aware of such things. India is truly incredible with awesome culture. Am proud of it..!!

Touching write-up bro...
And when we see and hear about these people who are content with so little that they have, it makes us wonder why we crave for more even after getting so much...touching man...really touching...forces one to go into self-introspection mode...

Btw, some lovely b/w pics...and very nice play of light & shade...

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Phase 2 - Day 7, 8 & 9 - Varanasi to Siliguri

Early morning shave in Siliguri, before leaving for north east India. The North East Adventure begins today.

Sevak bridge connecting Bridge beteen Siliguri to Northeast India





Watching a Bison from the road side.









Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary.

Ya man i was not able to digest the fact that here i am exploring to my heart's content and i am lucky enough to pursue my passions right since i was a child and here i see these women who are deprived of their basic needs and are living under such dire conditions....felt really bad.

Yes rock i know...you tend to go on the path thats right there in front of you and forget that there might be another side to what we see....and yes i always try to see not just the other side of the story but like to explore ALL the sides but yes at times since we all have emotions we do get carried away

I wish i could spend some more time with them...probably with few more biking buddies I too am proud of our INDIA. Am happy that my documentary shall have such a touching story to show...

Thats exactly that was going on in my head suvo....that so called detachment mode