Today I got up early to catch bus 102 to the airport, but I had another 1 hour of waiting and no sign of it, luckily I had the company of an Indian woman who was also waiting for a friend who was also late. Coincidentally, as soon as her friend showed up and they left, a bus came by moving slowly with the driver shouting “Jaunpur” and I asked if it went past the airport, he said yes and I jumped in, and the trip ended up even cheaper than planned: 39 rupees (39 cents) for a 40 min ride.
Now I’m about to board a plane heading for Jaipur, the time has come to say goodbye to Varanasi, the city of Shiva, the Hindu god, which is considered the cradle of civilisation and the spiritual capital; it’s the holiest city in Hinduism, since it’s believed that Shiva founded it and that dying there brings liberation.
It’s the oldest pilgrimage centre in all of India. It was founded about 1,200 years BC and its name means “City that is a Prayer”. Every Hindu devotee believes that if they die in the city and are cremated on the banks of the river Ganges, they attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Besides Shiva, Ganesha is one of the most popular and revered deities of Hinduism, easily recognised by his elephant head. He is the son of Shiva (the destroyer) and Parvati (the mother goddess).
Ganesha is a remover of obstacles, he is invoked before any new undertaking, whether a journey, business or a wedding, to make sure the path is free of difficulties. He is also the Lord of Wisdom: he personifies intellect, logic and fortune and is the protector of writers, students and scholars.
How Ganesha got an elephant’s face:
The story goes that Shiva, who had spent several years away and was returning to his home, joyful at the glorious victory he had brought to the gods, stopped only at the entrance to his house, where he found Ganesha. Ganesha, faithfully following Parvati’s words, did not allow the god to enter the house and Shiva, angered by the situation, cut off Ganesha’s head.
His servants were sent out to find the first living creature they could that was sleeping with its head facing north. They found an elephant. With the elephant’s head, Ganesha was reborn, gaining his iconic form.