God of Decay

People come to Varanasi to bathe in the "holy" waters of the Ganges. This city is dedicated to Shiva, the god of destruction. Hindus have 330 million gods and people devote themselves to the "god of their liking", an attempt to appease the one you think could do the most harm and pleasing the one who can deliver the greatest benefit. The character of Shiva can be seen pretty quickly in Varanasi... decay is everywhere. Raw sewage runs into the river, garbage is everywhere, the dead monkey on the street is really a god, cow manure lays where the holy cows deposited it, and starving beggars are there because it is their Karma. The air is a thick haze coming from the crematoriums where the ashes of the fortunate are added to the holy river.