Getting Intimate With Life and Death in India: Lifeline Express and Varanasi

India is a land of breathtaking contrasts, where the threads of life and death are woven together in surprising and profound ways.

Two unique destinations, one a moving symbol of hope, the other an ancient city symbolizing spiritual release, offer travelers a powerful glimpse into the Indian heart and soul.

Lifeline Express: The train of miracles

Image © impactindia.org

Claim to fame: India’s first hospital-on-wheels.
Location: Tracks that weave through rural India.
Focus: Free surgeries and essential care in hard-to-reach villages like Bastar in Chhattisgarh, Pipari Kala village in Madhya Pradesh, etc.
Getting there: Register with Impact India Foundation, then board the train at its current stop. 

Since 1991, this brightly painted Hospital on Rail has racked up impressive numbers of more than:

• 1,500,000 patient consultations
• 200,000 surgeries
• 21,000 congenital anomaly repairs.

Each halt feels like a pop-up miracle: in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, 7,833 people found care in just two weeks, while a month-long camp in Katihar, Bihar, helped 11,133 villagers reclaim their health. 

Volunteer doctors restore sight, mend limbs and welcome newborns while rice fields blur outside the windows. Sign on as a short-term helper and trade fridge magnets for memories stitched with hope.

Travel Tip: If you are keen to volunteer, connect with the Impact India Foundation in advance for schedules and placements.

Varanasi: The city where the Ganges meets eternity

Claim to fame: Major destination for spiritual travelers, known for its ancient rituals, riverside cremations, and the belief that dying here leads to liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Location: Uttar Pradesh, northern India.
Vibes: Ancient alleys, temple bells, the gentle rhythm of life and leave-taking.
Getting there: Fly into Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport or catch an overnight train from Delhi. 

The city greets dawn with pink-washed ghats (riverfront steps leading to Ganges) and conch-shell calls. By dusk, priests lift brass lamps in swirling arcs during the daily Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat, while cremation fires glow at Manikarnika Ghat. 

Varanasi is renowned for its spiritual significance in Hinduism. Pilgrims arrive daily from across India, seeking blessings, spiritual clarity, or to fulfill a loved one’s last wishes.

Varanasi hosts 84 ghats in total, each with its own legend and purposes. In this city, bliss and farewell share the same riverbank, inviting visitors to witness life meeting its full circle moment with humility.

Travel tip: Hire a small boat at sunrise or twilight for an unobtrusive view of rituals. Dress modestly, remove footwear when requested, and always ask before photographing private ceremonies.

Your choice is your journey

Choose Lifeline Express if:

• You are passionate about hands-on humanitarian work, especially if you are already working in the field of medicine or social work.  
• You’d rather chase the golden hour across endless tracks than headlights in gridlock.
• You’d choose surgical masks over souvenir T-shirts any day. 

Choose Varanasi if:

• Timeless rituals speak to your spirit. 
• Wandering incense-scented lanes feels like treasure hunting. 
• Dawn and dusk are your favourite camera settings.

Or, skip the either-or. With a little forward planning, you can join the Lifeline Express on its route to help the real-life heroes of rural India, then travel onward to the Ganges to ponder life, eternity and everything in between. 

Two experiences, one passport, where will you begin?