Poo Alley

In my first post I mentioned something about poo alley. I lived in Varanasi, India for 6 months a few years ago. It was a shocking, magical, life questioning, uncomfortable, colourful and delicious experience. But I think I missed a really important part of the experience. I've heard the smells in India are strong, intense and often overpowering. Based on my other senses, this is what I imagine to be true. I imagine that the smells are like the constant movement of people, the haphazard living situations, the permeation of religion into everyday life, the communal bathing areas, the early morning prayers on the banks of the Ganges and the women's colourful clothes. The smells, good and bad, must permeate through people's lives. Here we seal ourselves away from the natural world, sometimes trying to bring in pleasant scents through air fresheners, flowers or incense. I, of course, rely on visitors to the apartment to tell me that it smells like last night's dinner.

It is very common in India, at least where I was, for cow dung to be shaped into patties, dried and used for fuel. This is a readily available and cheap source of fuel. Near where I lived, there was a alley where the patties were stuck to the wall to dry. My co-workers and I dubbed it poo alley. Luckily for me, I could simply admire the creative and traditional ways people use the world around them rather than having to plug my nose.