Varanasi

VARANASI  - KASHI

It was back in 2015 when we were filming Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty that I landed in New Delhi late one night. As I walked outside the airport my body was flooded with excitement; I felt the unknown but it all was so known. I went to stay in one of the nearby hotels and the next morning I flew to Varanasi…

Varanasi was the first city of India I experienced. It is an incredibly intense, magical and transformational city. When people asked where I went first in India I would reply and wait for their facial expression; the eyebrows raise and then a beautiful smile. It is one of the oldest holiest cities in the world and it is the city of Lord Shiva. For many it is confronting at first, although most discover it is also an intoxicating expression of life, with a divine and devoted warmth.

Varanasi is a city of great spiritual history so many pilgrims have journeyed to. As I walked the shores of the Ganges where cremations take place I observed loved ones honouring those passed and seeking salvation. I saw this is a great honour at birth as well as the liberation of salvation at death. Marigolds lace the tiny streets for the pilgrimage to the shores of the Ganges; the chants and the sounds of the bells ring through the air. To be respectful as an outsider is incredibly important. I remember one night on my return to Varanasi last year I sat at the foot of the steps of the Shiva temple listening to the chanting. It is a rhythmic hypnotic chant that resonates deeply within.

In the early morning when the sun rises over the Ganges, blazing red, the city invokes the early rituals of bathing, honouring the gods and goddess, Puja. The alleyways are a labyrinth of life; crowds walking the temple, sweeping outside shops, the dogs, the cows, the abundance of flowers in the streets. The early morning boat rides to offer to the sun venture on to the Ghats, as the cremation fires keep burning and the bells keep ringing to awaken the gods.

Eventually by exploration of Varanasi took me to the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple with the glorious Chalisa being chanted, monkeys climbing throughout the temple and sitting on the floor just watching people as they pass through. Other incredible temples to experience include the Durga Temple, Shiva Temple and Annpura Temple.

There is so much to discover – so many paths and so many temples to explore.

If I told you where they were then the pilgrimage would be mine and not yours.

Varanasi is a city that gives birth to a new way of thinking, allowing you to open your inner wonder, as if seeing life through the eyes of a curious child. Breathe in and breathe out to let the magic happen.

RISHIKESH

As I journey through the streets of old town Rishikesh, I recall the smells, the sounds, the tastes, the sights and how all senses are activated in this incredible  country my soul sings in – beloved India.

The old town of Rishikesh is a busy hub of markets, with Puja supplies and a magnificent Aarti that I travel to several times a week. It is a place of great devotion and reverence as the sunsets and the devotion of people come to make offerings to the Ganga. I love witnessing these amazing practices; the offering of fire, the great element of transformation.

Walking around Rishikesh in the spring and summer is magical; the rose lassi, the street food, the incense, the conversations, the cows standing outside the stores, the jeeps honking. This is all part of a spiritual journey. As I would soon discover, what we call the ‘spiritual journey’ is not separate to who I am, because this is the great map of the soul, may parts but all one. Only now is this part of me screaming out like a child that needs attention. This is where the great pilgrimage of India has been a fundamental part in many lives, for the ways of simply looking inward, for the great ego to fall away and let the full self explore life.

When I first came to India I came for yoga at the Sattva Yoga Inn in Rishikesh. Learning this ancient way of life was to be more than an Asana, but to mean full living ,all of life is yoga. On a more linear level, Rishikesh offers great places to experience some of the great yogi meditation spots, such as the Vashishtha Cave.

The Kunjapuri Devi Temple is also a magical visit. Take a guide to experience this at sunrise. Sit with a mantra and be still as you watch the sunrise over the hills of the Himalayas.

I did this back in November 2017 after hearing the chanting of the Devi prayer while walking through the streets of Laxman Jula in Rishikesh. I wanted to experience the Devi the goddess and that journey start, how deeply this was to go I hadn’t realized .. yet. This is the unfolding of India.

The book shop near the Laxman Jula bridge was filled with beautiful books, old and new. In Tapavan there are many health food stores. Even in the last 2 years this place has had seen incredible expansion. Ramas Garden is an amazing place to eat a delicious meal, while also supporting the local school there.

A starting point for the great pilgrimage is Char Dham to Badrinath Kendrath and Gangotri. Having just come back from Badrinath in May 2019, this was probably one of the most deeply nourishing spiritual journeys I have been on. And returned to 2025

India is a place of discovery, to experience a sacred dip in the Ganga. You are able to sit and really watch and see what is externally there, but this will always lead inward, this is India’s promise to the soul. There was a great quote –

“While the rest of the world travelled externally, India went in”.

This is a promise and has been for centuries, whether she spits you out and you are triggered or you embrace and transcend. India will always love you and teach you.

Rach