The smoke is thick around the public funeral ground. Eyes are
stinging, and the air is heavy with the smells of burning wood, incense,
and – somewhat disturbingly – an aroma described as being like
barbecuing meat.
Piles of wood smoulder and burn along
the riverbanks, occasionally poked by men or boys with sticks in order
to keep them alight. Here and there, jutting from the stacked lots, you
can make out a human limb or head of one of the departed – their soul
believed to be on its way to heaven. This is not a place for the
squeamish.
Varanasi’s ghats are large stone steps constructed along the banks of India’s holy river, the Ganges. For centuries, people have been coming here to pray, meditate, bathe and, famously, cremate their dead.
Despite the ancient and sacred character of the place, however,
visitors to these steps should expect more of a jostling market
atmosphere than a place for quiet contemplation. The larger of the
burning ghats, Manikarnika, is believed to host around 200 cremations in a single day.
The funeral ghats of Varanasi are well known – which some might say
is fortunate, given that stumbling unexpectedly across a human body
burning on top of a pile of logs would come as rather a shock to the
unsuspecting! Most visitors are not only aware of what goes on here;
many come especially to observe this ancient ritual – whether out of
cultural curiosity or mere morbid fascination.
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