Manikarnika

I think deciding to travel and document life has been among the best decisions I have taken in my life lately and to experience events like this is a whole other story. “Manikarnika ki aag kabhi bujhti nahi hai bhai” was my first core memory of a conversation with a localite of Banaras. Had never been there till then, never knew what to expect, had assumed it to be just another cremation ground with access to take pictures. But there are certain places in the world that make you question reality, that can make you question about the surreal. One such place that strikes my mind when you speak about is Manikarnika. As much as existence goes, it vanishes here and you start questioning your own self, your own race behind whatever that you are running for, whatever it is that is supposedly the end goal. My first experience here was quite blunt and blank for most parts that I spent here as it wasn’t just a bizarre experience, but also an extremely surreal emotion within. I had seen death, but not this close. I had seen life but maybe not this close either. It was just another part of someone’s everyday life, bodies come bodies burn, it just goes on.

Conversing with locals, understanding the true story of people that breathe there, I was silenced for a major part of my first time there. As friendly as the people there were, what  dumbstruck me was when I discovered Death is celebrated here. It’s not just an everyday celebration we are talking about metaphorically, a festival, rooted deep down into its culture. And I thought alright, let’s just keep it there for now. Fast forward a few months and here I was, planning to visit Varanasi again, for the Masan ki Holi, a celebration of life amidst death. A celebration that has dancing, singing and the divine. All of this mixed in pyre ashes !!

I visited Varanasi twice in a span of 6 months and both times the experience was way different, such is the beauty of that city. I had said this earlier and I say it again, I don’t know if I can make justice to the experience but I make attempts to experience and write stories and this is just one among the many to come :)