Banares Hindu University

Through a lucky exchange of business cards, I was invited to speak to the Center for Peace Research at Banares Hindu University in Varanasi. John and Adelaide had been to Varanasi but I hadn't yet. I was eager to see this city that is especially holy for Hindus. I flew there on a Sunday afternoon, arriving in time for a walking tour of the Assi Ghat [wide stairs along the riverbank] and ghats north of it along the Ganges River. I was accompanied by a young history professor at BHU, Thanu, who seemed very eager to be a tourist in her own backyard. One of the ghats is famously known for its cremation of the dead and the committing of their ashes to the Ganges. We saw two cremations in progress.
















Thanu also took me to see the large temple on the BHU campus, where, barefooted, we approached the Shiva statue and were offered a small necklace of flowers by the priest.



















The BHU campus consists of 2000 heavily shaded acres with unusually designed buildings all painted in a creamy yellow and red color scheme. The are long avenues of towering Victorian academic buildings, student hostels, faculty housing, a medical college, and athletic fields all spread under the wide branches of tall old trees.












The most charming sight at BHU is the steady stream of bicycle rickshaws ferrying students and faculty around the campus. They are gaily painted metal rickshaws with a high seat and a low back, causing the ladies in their sarees to sit up especially straight while be conveyed along the lanes. The rickshaws look so like carriages that you feel you are transported back 100 years in time.












I gave a lecture on Monday to a group of students and faculty in the social sciences in the un-air conditioned auditorium. Except for the beads of perspiration trickling down my back as I spoke, the lecture went extremely well. The most difficult part of my address was thanking my host, Prinankar Upadhyaya, by name and not stumbling over it! I hope to have a few photos of the event to add to the blog. The faculty in the Peace Research center are focusing non-traditional, 21st century threats to human security and peace such as environmental degradation and poverty. We had several wide ranging conversations on this topic.

On my second morning in Varanasi, another nice young history faculty member and his friend drove me to the downtown area to view a controversial mosque/temple sight. Because of rising religion-based disputes, the site is heavily guarded by the military. I found the winding narrow streets of the city center fascinating. I would have found them intimidating had we been there later in the day, but we purposefully went early when few shops are open and the streets are relatively empty.

I left with a rather sad feeling about the ghats--they seem so poorly treated by those who come to give reverence to the Ganges--and a wistful feeling about the blissful life enjoyed by the faculty and students at Banares Hindu University. I also feel gratified that it is so possible to make connections and new friends with like-minded people,