Amma, 96, goes to Benares

Illustration/Uday Mohite

I have just returned from taking Amma, Indu Shedde, who is 96, to Benares. I had no immediate plan to go to Benares, nor had Amma ever asked me to take her there. The trip materialised in a most casual manner. My friends Deepa Soman and Milind S Soman called me from Benares, where they were staying at the Bal Ashram, right on the banks of the river Ganga, which she said was peaceful and lovely.

Tejbal Pandeyji, who oversees the ashram, very kindly agreed to make all arrangements to make Amma comfortable, including a wheelchair, if we visited. He advised that as Amma is 96, it is not advisable to visit after the first week of April, as it gets too hot. Unfortunately, my sister Sarayu Kamat was not free till April 20, so I decided to go ahead for Amma's convenience. The moment I decided, everything fell into place in such a sahaj, easy way, it felt like a "bulawa," a spiritual call.

In Benares, also called Kashi and Varanasi, we stayed at Bal Ashram, on Samne Ghat, Lanka, right on the Ganga river. We had a clean and comfortable room, and simple ashram food. It is a beautiful place, with a small temple and a garden full of flowers and birdsong. It is run by the Aghor Foundation, with very kind staff, including the delightful Mishraji. Their charitable institutions include the Anjali School, the Vision Varanasi eye hospital and Project Shakti that gives women vocational skills, and an organic farm.

"People come to Kashi to dump their aged parents and get rid of them," Amma tells me. "Are you worried about anything?" I ask, concerned. "No, no, just sharing what some people do," she assures me. So this trip was customised for Amma. What do you want to do in Kashi, Amma, I ask. "I want to go to Kashi Vishwanath temple, and see the Ganga aarti. And I want to put that leaf in the Ganga with the oil lamp and flowers," she said.

As the weather prediction was 37 degrees Celsius, I decided that I would take Amma out only in the mornings and evenings; in the afternoons she could nap after lunch, while I could nip out for a few hours. But Amma was an "enthu cutlet" and wanted to go everywhere. She had hardly travelled in about 10 years, and it was as if, at 96, she wanted to make up for lost time.

A kind soul got us VIP tickets, and Amma was taken in a wheelchair right up to the golden garbha griha of the spruced up Kashi Vishwanath temple in a short time. Later, Tejbalji arranged for Amma's wheelchair to be carried down the Assi ghat and right into the boat. We did a boat tour of Varanasi's ghats at sunset, ending with the Ganga aarti, in which men perform a choreographed aarti, an oil lamp ritual, on the ghats.

Everywhere we go, when I tell people Amma is 96, they are so amazed that she is walking, travelling, able to climb stairs - they want to take a photo with her. Amma smiles broadly like the proper celebrity she is. At Sarnath, a woman tells Amma emotionally, "You look just like my mother. May I take a photo with you?" We are very touched, and of course, Amma obliges.

Amma is keenly interested in Varanasi's rich arts and culture, including music and food. "Girija Devi and Siddheshwari Devi are from Benares," Amma tells me, but sadly we can't find a music concert we can attend. But anthropologist Nita Kumar of the non-profit Nirman, very kindly arranges a visit to a modest but amazing Banarasi silk sari weavers' centre in Madanpura. Then I treat Amma to Banarasi specials - kachori, jalebi, jaleba (a bigger, more ornate version of the jalebi with more squiggles), Banarasi lassi (with lashings of rabdi), the terrific Vishrambu, a dry fruit paste in milk with thandai (and optional bhang mash!), and the famous Banarasi paan. "Khaike paan Banaraswala, khul jaye band akal ka tala," a delighted Amma sings the popular song picturised on Amitabh Bachchan in Don.
Paisa vasool trip, Amma? Oh yes, she heartily agrees. More on Benares in another column.

Meenakshi Shedde is India and South Asia Delegate to the Berlin International Film Festival, National Award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist.
Reach her at meenakshi.shedde@mid-day.com