Masan Holi
In Varanasi, life and death and celebration all get mixed up together. Nothing is really separate from anything. That is why Holi in Varanasi is not about colours and laughing. Holi in Varanasi goes much deeper. It is, about ash and fire and silence too. This is what Masan Holi is. Masan Holi is a ritual that really gets to you. It makes you think. It makes you feel things. Masan Holi can even change you.
The Holi celebrations in North India are really fun and crazy.. Masan Holi is different. It happens at the cremation grounds, where they burn bodies all the time. The main place for this is Manikarnika Ghat. It is one of the places in the world where they still burn bodies. At Masan Holi people do not try to forget about death. They think about Masan Holi and what it means to face death. Masan Holi is special because it is about thinking about death and Masan Holi is not, like Holi celebrations.
Masan Holi is something that the Aghori and Shaiva ascetics really like to celebrate. These people are followers of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is the one who’s in charge of the cremation grounds. He is also the destroyer and a kind ascetic. People believe that on the night of Rangbhari Ekadashi, Lord Shiva comes back, to Kashi with Parvati. When Lord Shiva comes back he blesses the city with lots of colour. After the city has its celebration the ascetics get together in a place that is really meant for Lord Shiva. This place is where you find pyres, skulls, ash and smoke. The ascetics believe that Lord Shiva belongs in this kind of place.
Here colours are replaced by bhasma, which’s the sacred ash from cremation fires. The bodies are covered with this ash not with gulal, which’s the coloured powder people usually use. Instead they use the remnants of mortality which’s a pretty heavy thing to think about.. This is not just some weird thing they are doing for show. The people who do this are actually living out their philosophy they are putting it into practice. That is what the bhasma and the remnants of mortality are all, about the philosophy of the bhasma.
At Masan Holi people do not fear death. They do not try to hide it. Death is something that affects everyone at Masan Holi. It is like a reminder that we’re all the same. Masan Holi is a place where death is seen as the equalizer. This means that death does not care who you are or what you have. Death is a part of life, at Masan Holi.
When the sun goes down the ghats look pretty with a weird light. It is like fire and shadow mixed together. You see flames going up you hear the wood cracking the bells ringing and people chanting through all the smoke. The air smells like sandalwood that is burning, ghee and incense.. There is something else too something you cannot miss. The people who are alive and the people who are dead are all, in the place breathing the same air at the same time in the ghats.
The ascetics arrive slowly. They are a strange sight. Some of them are completely naked. Some are wrapped in cloth that is covered in ash. Their hair is all. Their eyes look really hollow. They have these skull malas that hang down against their chests which’re all dusty and white. The ascetics dance,. It is not like they are happy or sad. They just seem to be giving up. Their movements are really wild and over the place. It is like they are not even, in control. The drums are beating fast like a heartbeat that will not slow down. Someone is waving a fire around. Ash is being thrown everywhere. You can hear the ascetics chanting Har Har Mahadev over and again really loud into the night. The ascetics and their chanting of Har Har Mahadev are really something to see.
The festival of Holi is not much fun when you do not have the things that make you feel comfortable. Holi is a time when people usually have a time but, without comfort Holi is just not the same. The whole idea of Holi is to enjoy it with the people you care about and have things that make you feel at ease. When that is taken away Holi is really stripped of comfort.
You cannot take a selfie here without something happening to you. Nobody who watches this is left alone. The ash falls on your skin. You breathe it into your lungs and it gets all over your camera lenses. This ritual does not let you stay away. The ritual of taking a selfie pulls you in whether you are ready to take a selfie or not. The ritual of taking a selfie does not care if you want to take a selfie or not it pulls you in anyway.
For people who live in the area Masan Holi is not something you just watch. It is something that always happens. It reminds people in Kashi that being getting moksha. Is not just something you hope for. You can see it. Hear it and feel it right in front of you. People do not try to hide death or make it seem nicer than it’s. Death is something that happens every day. It is also something that people think about when they are celebrating Masan Holi. Masan Holi is a part of life, in Kashi and death is a part of Masan Holi.
This is why Masan Holi can be really disturbing to people who do not know what to expect. It breaks the way we deal with death, which is to hide it in hospitals and during funerals.. At Masan Holi death is right in the middle of everything. It is something that is considered sacred. It is almost like people are having a connection, with death.
For a photographer or a documentarian Masan Holi is not, about the big flames. Those are actually pretty easy to capture. The real challenge of Masan Holi is being able to control yourself. You have to know when it is better not to take a picture. When it is better to put the camera down. When you should just stand there. Take it all in experience Masan Holi for yourself.
The faces you see here have been around for a long time. These eyes have watched as thousands of people died. The hands you see are used to spreading ashes and they do it very calmly. It is like they have already accepted that nothing lasts forever. There is a lot of power in this place. The people are also very humble. Nobody is trying to show off for the camera. If anything it feels like the camera is being rude, by being. The people are not performing for the camera they are just being themselves.
You really have to see Masan Holi for yourself. Masan Holi is one of those things that you just have to experience. It is really something. You will not regret it if you go to see Masan Holi. Masan Holi is worth it.
This thing is different because it asks questions that most festivals do not ask. Most festivals avoid these questions. The questions that most festivals avoid are the ones that this thing asks.
What if death is not the opposite of life, but its shadow?
What if a celebration makes sense when you remember the end of something. I think about this a lot. When you are celebrating something it is nice to remember that it will eventually come to an end. This is what makes the celebration of something special because you know that the end of it is near. So a celebration makes sense when you remember the end of the thing you are celebrating.
What if the colour we see is only special because it will eventually fade away. The colour is important, to us because it does not last forever. If the colour did not fade would it still have meaning to us. Colour is something that we appreciate because it is not always there the colour fades. That is what makes it special. The fact that colour fades is what gives the colour its meaning.
When the sun starts to rise everything changes. The fires are not burning high as they were before. The people have stopped chanting. They are speaking softly now. The ascetics are leaving quietly just like they came. The ghats are going back to how they are. The cremations are still happening boats are moving slowly on the water and pilgrims are bathing in the Ganga. It is like nothing special happened at the Ganga. The pilgrims are bathing in the Ganga as if everything is normal now. The energy of the Ganga and the ghats is back, to what it was.
Something is different inside of me now. It is a change that has happened internally.
Masan Holi is something that affects everyone. It takes away the idea that things will always stay the same and instead makes things clear. When you are around the ashes and the flames of Masan Holi your ego is not as important anymore. The things that make us different, from each other do not seem to matter much during Masan Holi. Masan Holi also makes us less afraid.
This is why Masan Holi does not need approval from anyone. The thing is, Masan Holi has been around, for centuries and it has done fine without approval. Masan Holi has managed to survive all this time on its own so it really does not need anyone to approve of it.
In a world where people really want to be comfortable Masan Holi is something that will confront you.
In a culture where people do not like to talk about death Masan Holi is a time to remember the people who have died.
During the Masan Holi festival, which’s a big celebration of colour everything is covered in ash.. The thing about Masan Holi ash is that it tells the truth about Masan Holi. The ash of Masan Holi is real it does not hide anything, about Masan Holi.
To really see what Masan Holi in Varanasi is about you need to understand the city of Varanasi.
Varanasi is not a pretty picture or a place you visit.
It is a way of life that people live every day.
Masan Holi, in Varanasi is something that reminds you of this over and over:
Nothing is permanent.
So live honestly.
