I decided to bite the bullet today and head over to the main burning ghat, easily identified by the towers of wood surrounding the eternal fires. Over 300 bodies are being burned here, day and night, every day of the year. Each caste has it's own separate fire place, and the bodies of the Brahmin caste are being cremated by the means of the very expensive sandalwood, the one's from the lower castes have to get by with cheaper wood, all of which is meticulously weighed before distributed under and around the deceased.
The burning ghat is open to public, but the locals are not kidding when they tell you that photography is not allowed, last night a japanese tourist apparently got mauled and dragged to the police by an angry mob after having snapped a few shots of the ghat. Apart from that, it is business as usual, and people sit on the stairs surrounding the ghat eating snacks and gossiping about the latest, watching the show taking place in front of them with mild disinterest. A dhalit pokes the fires from now and then, another group of men carry a new corpse covered in shiny fabrics and garlands of flower down to the river, dipping it in the holy water before it is being consumed by the holy fires. A cow calmly makes her way through the fires, chants are chanted, spells are read, and a new flame is born, cleansing the air with a thick smoke and the smell of burning wood.
The atmosphere is in fact so relaxed that you're almost led to believe that you're watching a cosy little bonfire, until you spot the charred remains of a foot poking out from the flames and you realise that this is a barbeque you don't mind missing.
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