The eternal city

By Christoph Kohler

IT is without doubt that Varanasi is one of the most amazing cities on our planet. You will be confronted with scenes you have never dreamt of. Expect the unexpected. You might not like the place at all, but you can’t ignore it. It is right there, and you’ll feel it with an intensity not to be experienced at any other place on earth.

The journey to the railway station in Mugalsarai, a hellish one-hour trip by tempo along a stretch of the chaotic Grand Trunk Road to Varanasi, was not really inviting. It was already pitch-dark when I finally arrived at the edge of old town, and what I saw of Varanasi was just another chaotic, traffic-stricken, polluted, grey city, which could be anywhere in India. I paid the tempo-wallah and set out on foot to find a hotel. It was already late and I was getting tired; no rickshaw could squeeze itself through the tiny alleys of the gloomy old town.

Waking up in the morning with the first rays of the sun, and looking out of the window, I was not really sure where I was. A beautiful red ball had raised itself through the mist over the Ganga. The bent sandstone facade along the edge of the river seemed unreal and mystic in the first light of the day, like out of a fairytale. I once again had to rub my eyes, but it was true. I spotted dolphins. I was never really convinced by the dolphin stories of Varanasi, but they are true-- tiny, fresh water dolphins were jumping amidst the steady traffic of tourist boats and ferries, which bring devotees to the other side of the Ganga. Long before the sun reaches the zenith, it gets unbearably hot.

Strolling through the narrow alleys of old Varanasi, you can easily lose yourself in time and certainly in the orientation. The bending, winding maze of alleys, with different flavours in the air, cows, open fire cooking places set you back into the Middle Ages. It is unbelievable how intense such a stroll can be.

At the various ghats, something is always happening. Devotees, sometimes in a real trance, perform their pujas, and take a dip in the holy water. Dobhis beat the dirt out of clothes as entire families brush their teeth or take the morning bath. You can have your palm read and get some information about your future. The best is to seek a shady spot, where the sun doesn’t burn too much. Just sitting there, observing the scene, and the day can slip away very easily. The earlier you arrive, more activity you will find.

In Varanasi, the eternal city and one of the holiest pilgrim sites for the Hindus, you are closely confronted with death. It is believed that if you die in Varanasi, you will attain salvation. You meet a procession at every corner, carrying a corpse covered with a white sheet, to be cremated. Very disturbing was the smell of bodies burning at the ghat.

Taking a boat early in the morning, I asked my boatman to take me to the other side of the river to have a view of the beautiful skyline. He thought that was a good idea since the water there was cleaner, and I could have a swim as well. I, however, could not even dangle my feet in it. I saw skeletons lying on the sand-bank. Crows were picking on half rotten corpses and a dog got its share as well. The face of a woman appeared from under the surface, the skin peeling from the skull.

Some people who are not cremated are simply thrown into the river. They can be unmarried girls, priests,or people who died of a snake bite. For a Swiss national, this certainly was shocking. But I also realised that we in the West are apprehensive of death and consider it a bad event. In Hinduism, it is regarded as the release of the soul from one body, before it gets reincarnated in another body. I find it difficult to think of these things and then swim in the Ganga.

I wonder how the stomach of a sadhu looks like, one who drinks this water straight from the river. Even if the Ganga is a very holy river, it certainly is very polluted.

Sadhus can be spotted everywhere in the town. Sad, but some of the sadhus beg their way through live and smoke charas all the day long. Anyway, you meet really nice sadhus,too, who tell you a bit of their beliefs. Sometimes the stories are farfetched, but certainly each has some truth in it.

Whatever you may plan to do in Varanasi, do try to spend some time in the old town. The atmosphere will not leave you untouched. Every single building could tell you its exciting story. Try to inhale its smell and scenery, which will be the best souvenir you can bring home from Varanasi, a truly unique place on our planet.

NCR inhabitants lack facilities

By Vasu

HARIHAR Singh, 40, is a technocrat who works for a leading construction company. Every morning he wakes up with a sinking heart and it requires all his planning skills to chart out the itinerary of the day for himself and his two school-going children, for Harihar is in the unenviable position of being a resident of the Capital. A resident of the highly prized Charmswood village (where a small two bed-room apartment costs Rs 15 lakh and more), situated on the demarcating line between Delhi and Haryana, and owner of a beautiful bungalow, Harihar and his family have perfected their schedule to the last second. The children go to separate schools some 20 km away across the border into Delhi, while Dad zips off to the factory located on the far end of Faridabad in Haryana, another 15 km away. His work, of course, entails frequent trips to offices in Noida in Uttar Pradesh, besides numerous daily visits to company offices scattered all over Delhi.

Is he an exception or is the average resident of the Capital commuting his life away? Unfortunately, this mode of existence is shared by many persons. In the Capital, where land prices have put purchasing a house out of reach for the middle-class segment, people have increasingly turned to the fringes of the main city. However inhabitants of the so-called National Capital Region (NCR) often find, to their discomfort, that in spite of owning a dream house, they are unable to lead a comfortable life as the infrastructure support is still minimal.

A grim picture emerges from the projections of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB). According to the estimates of the Board, by the year 2000 the population of Delhi will be around two crore. Out of this, nearly a crore would be living in near slum-like conditions, mostly on the periphery. Due to the immense pressure on the Capital, many industries were shifted out of the city and the NCRPB was set up to provide facilities in the neighbouring areas. The Board invested in several land development schemes in the NCR, along with private developers who went on a construction spree. However, the real estate crash has put on hold any hopes of getting immediate returns on the investment. Many townships have come up in places like Gurgaon, where commercial development has kept pace with residential and community building, and offer the walk- to- work culture. But in places like Noida, where over 3.5 lakh new settlers are residing in 93 sectors spread over 15000 hectares for the last seven years, even a rail link to the city is yet to be established. Noida’s proximity to South Delhi has resulted in professionals picking up plots and flats there. But even after 22 years of the formation of the Authority, the town has virtually no recreational facilities and some good shopping malls and schools have come up only recently.

"Private builders and developers have changed the skyline of the areas bordering the Capital," claims a broker, Deepak Chadha.

The reason is not hard to find. Following the astronomical escalation of commercial property rent in most of the business and commercial centres of the city, big Indian companies and multinationals shifted their entire operations to satellite towns like Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. The new set-ups had one thing in abundance — space. The private builders side by side developed both commercial and residential areas. The quality of residential townships on the periphery is undoubtedly better, says Ranjana, who lives in the suburbs. There is no shortage of recreational and shopping facilities, but amenities like good schools and colleges, well-equipped hospitals and better link roads to the Capital are missing. "Most of us end up commuting a major part of the day," she adds.

"Shifting to the fringes of the city is not normally a conscious decision", says Rajeev who plans to purchase a flat near Noida. The prices range between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 per sq yard, even in the middle segment places like Janakpuri, Kirti Nagar, Vikaspuri, etc. In the prime areas like Vasant Vihar and Golf Links, the cost is Rs 65,000 and above per sq. yard. So one has no alternative when one considers settling in the fringes of the city. Amita bought a house in Noida when she found out that Rs 20 lakh could not get her even a one-room apartment in posh South Delhi. Though commuting to Nehru Place for work takes most of her time, she managed to buy a two bed-room flat for Rs 7 lakh in Noida. It is another matter that the society from which she bought the flat, gave an electricity connection eight months after she moved in, and she is still to find a good school for her daughter.