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At one of the laundry ghats we saw “professionals” washing clothes in the Ganges.
“This is their job,” the guide said, differentiating them from others who just
washed clothes belonging to themselves.

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A few seagulls now flew overhead.

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“They are Dravidians, a different race form us Indo-Aryans,” our guide stressed.

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One building was the Palace of the Maharaja of Jaipur, just behind the Manmandir Ghat.

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A couple had made an offering of candles and flowers to the Ganges and
was collecting the river’s water “for drinking and to make tea,” as our guide said.

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Some had been turned into hotels.

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The river’s edge was now getting more crowded. Some more locals were bathing.

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We passed several big houses and even bigger mansions on the west bank of the river.

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By the time we boarded our little boat there were some locals on the Ganges
“offering water to the sun in the east,” as our guide pointed out.

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An older man was washing himself in the river.

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Two men were sitting on a rug and performing a ceremony.

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In the chill of the predawn we drove back to the Dashashwamedh Ghat
and walked down to the Ganges.

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