An intro to Varanasi (aka, 'Very Nasty')

Varanasi is where traditional Hindus come to die, or where their relatives bring them to be cremated if they don't quite make it in time. People also come to Varanasi to bathe in the Ganges and purify their souls:





It's about as weird and fascinating a place as you could ever hope to visit, but it's not for the feint of heart and I certainly don't recommend it as a first stop in India unless you just want to throw yourself into the fire (no pun/sick joke intended) and desensitize yourself to culture shock immediately.

In the cremation ceremony, the body is dressed in white if it's a man, pink or red if it's a married woman, or yellow if it's an unmarried woman. Then, it's carried on bamboo polls through the streets of Varanasi down to the burning ghat. The men chant a mantra that means something like, "We come alone, and we must go alone." Only the men participate in the ceremony because the women would cry too much.

The body is first washed in the Ganges, ironically, for purification. Then, it is carried to a pyre made from banyan tree branches, which apparently neutralize the smell during cremation because the banyan is holy. Amazingly it really doesn't smell at all.

The oldest son wears all white and shaves his head as an offering to the deceased. He lights a torch from the 'eternal flame' located at the ghats, and he lights the four corners of the pyre and then the center to symbolize the elements (earth, air, ether, fire, water).

About 300 bodies are cremated on the Varanasi ghats every day, and the ceremonies occur 24 hours per day. You can see a fire in the background of this night time photo:



You can't photograph actual cremations, which is probably lucky for all of my readers. But here is what the burning ghat looks like by day when the clean it up:



People sift through the ashes to look for gold and silver. I don't think the families take back jewelry. From what I gather, that's how some people make a living. Certain deceased -- e.g., pregnant women, children, lepers, animals, and those who died as a result of cobra bites and smallpox -- are thrown into the water and weighted down with stones rather than burnt. That's because they're either contagious or already pure.

In an extremely unfortunate incident, someone who must have fallen into one of these categories washed up on the shore beside our boat and a dog started eating the remains. It was one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen in my life.

I do have a picture of this cow carcass, which floated past while Mahin (one of the girls on my trip) bravely bathed in the Ganges:



And here's Mahin in the water: