Geetanjali Krishna: A floating curiosity shop

PEOPLE LIKE THEM

You never really know who or what you'd meet floating on the Ganges in Benares. There we were, meandering quietly in a boat at dawn. The boatman was in no hurry to go anywhere, letting the river pull us along.

We, lulled by the gentle murmur of the river as it lapped against the boat in the background, were letting him do so. Many boats passed by.

Then this rickety open boat came along, carrying two boys who were sitting comfortably upon it watching television. One was actually reclining comfortably on a cushion.

"Have I totally lost it, or did I really see two boys watching television on a boat?" I asked my boatman Pullu. He nodded sagely. "They must be checking the quality of their DVDs," he explained.

I was even more confused. Why would the boys want to watch DVDs on a boat "" wouldn't it be infinitely simpler to do so at home? Pullu was grinning at my obvious confusion. "Why don't you ask them yourself?" he asked. I'd obviously roused him from his lethargy, for we pulled up near them in no time.

On closer inspection, the boys were watching a video of the evening arti at Dashashvamedh Ghat.

Behind the TV was a discreetly placed battery. Their boat was a floating DVD shop, festooned with CDs and DVDs, some on Benares, others with titles like Music to meditate by and Yoga for beginners.

I'd seen a couple of boats selling religious memorabilia and lamps to float in the river at dusk, but no others selling hi-tech stuff like this. We unsuccessfully tried to get their attention, but they'd set their sights on a boat full of unsuspecting westerners. Once the tourists realised they could check the quality of their DVDs and CDs on the portable television on the boat, the two entrepreneurs did brisk business.

Pocketing their earnings, the boys finally stopped by our boat. "You want to see a funeral? I'll show you one "" I paid a fortune to get permission to film in Manikarnika Ghat...there are many things on my DVD on Benares you'd never see on your own!" said the older of the two, Rakesh.

I started to decline, but he'd already inserted the DVD into the player. For something being peddled on a boat, obviously put together in a small studio somewhere in a Benarsi gali, its quality was not bad at all, and there was some decidedly well-chosen classical music in the background.

He zapped his remote expertly, showing us the rest of the film, a montage of Benares sights. Self-conscious about sitting in the middle of the river watching television, we were impressed nevertheless.

"I teamed up with an Israeli to make these DVDs on my city," said Rakesh. "When I saw how popular postcards were with tourists, I reckoned there'd be a market for DVDs on Benares sightseeing as well!" he added.

"I charge Rs 100 per DVD from Indians, but westerners pay even Rs 200 for this," said Rakesh. The idea of setting up the battery-powered TV and DVD player on his father's boat came to him because he felt tourists were most receptive when they'd been lulled by the boat.

"Plus, even if they don't want to, they're forced to listen to me and watch my DVDs "" how can they escape?" he grinned. Rakesh said proudly he was the only DVD peddler in Benares with a television on his boat. "I've found it pays to be different!" he said, before speeding off after yet another boatload of westerners taking pictures of the ghats.