Death on the Ganges

The holy Ganges in Varanasi; the Hindus worship, wash, and burn bodies on the edge of the river.

Friday, Nov. 16, 2007
Varanasi, India

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Varanasi is one of the world’s oldest cities and the spiritual hub of India. The Hindus believe that the Ganges is holy and see it as a privilege to bathe, pray, and conduct funeral pyres on its banks.

While walking along one of the narrow streets, we were swiftly ousted out of the way by sprightly young boys singing and jumping while carrying a body on a tinsel-covered stretcher. They brought it to the ghat where another man propped it up on two logs and proceeded to stuff straw underneath. It was then set alight.

We followed them and found a seat among the family of the deceased….who didn’t look at all miserable. We didn’t feel unwelcome; they seemed happy to have spectators. One man turned to us and started to ask us about ourselves as if we were at a football game. Knowing he wasn’t a sensitive type (regarding death, anyway), I asked who was being burned. “Oh, he was an old man, good friend of mine, good man, next life he will have big house and many sons.”

As the body began to smoulder, the smoke blew in our direction. Pulling my shawl over head and mouth, I prepared myself for a rotten smell, but instead it was the sweet waft of sage (the holy man kept laying fresh herbs on the body). This holy man, wrapped in a white linen cloth, immersed himself in the Ganges--spinning around, chanting, disappearing under the water at times and returning pointing his joined hands toward the burning body. Boys as young as 5 were moving straw to keep the body burning evenly. The people in charge of keeping the pyre burning are called dom rajas.

The man explained that because they were not very rich they had to use straw and he hoped they had enough to burn the body. He pointed over at another body that had just been brought down to the far side of the ghat; “He is rich, he has much rosewood, smells nice, and people stay.” The dom rajas were paying a lot more care in the handling of this body and what seemed to be the deceased’s former servant was ordering them around. “Oh, yes, lots of wood,” said the man, his eyes jealously narrowing. Then he began to chuckle, “but he is a very fat man.” He laughed hysterically and slapped his knees as he translated the joke to the others. The woman next to him looked over at us, and with her arms stretched wide around her stomach, she shrieked “fat man,” and roared laughing. We were more amused that they were joking while their friend’s intestines were popping out and sizzling like a sausage.

Three hours later we returned--it seemed like they were onto extra time; the man pointed to no watch on his wrist and sighed. Their fear became real…the straw had run out. After a while, the holy man poured the water from the Ganges onto the ashes. (A few body parts remained, like the skull and some hair). He ushered the woman and the other family members to step into the Ganges. The four women (dressed in beautiful saris) and two men joined the holy man and stood in a line in the water. They passed the water and ash mix back the line. When it reached the last woman, it was dunked in the river. This went on until finally the wooden stretcher, complete with the remains and some tinsel, was thrown in along with the ashes and it sailed off, the skull bobbing in the mighty Ganges.

Elaine Cooney
For International Living

P.S. Varanasi isn’t the most comfortable place for solo women travelers. Even though I went with my brother, I still encountered much more groping than in any other Indian city.

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- India Is Exotic and Exciting…But Also Filthy and Tiresome

- Varanasi is full of photo opportunities; you could pack in the day job and become a travel photographer