The Burning Ghats

Interview with a dhom gentleman
Harish Kund, Varanasi

[The name of the ghat where this interview took place is Harish Kund. On the way to the ghat is a road leading down to the cremation sites. There is an electric crematorium here, which the government has urged people to use. Tradition, however, is difficult to change, and burnings with wood remain the norm. As we walked this road, we saw one body being taken in for burning. It was the body of a woman covered in gold-colored, glittery garments. A group of men were carrying the wooden cot on which she was placed. A crowd followed, singing and chanting. At the time of the interview, the river was near flood stage. Normally, burnings take place closer to the river, but due to the high water, they took place in the village lanes. The residents of Harish Kund live together in a tightly-packed village by the river in Varanasi. A winding path leads up to the houses, a short distance away from the smoldering ash of burnings. Residents say that about every half hour a burning takes place, but that varies depending on the frequency of deaths.]

When we burn bodies, the first thing we do is bring the wood. After that, the funeral pyre is constructed. Then the person whose relative has died bathes in the Ganges, and takes fire from the constantly-burning flame, and lights the pyre. Then we wash the body, perform a ritual offering of flowers and other things, and then they bum it. The ashes are thrown in the Ganga. After burning, we look in the funeral pyre for anything of value, such as gold or silver articles.

Burning the body here [outside, on the ground] means that you can see it burning right in front of you. Cremating in the electric crematorium means that one forgets whose bones are whose and what’s being burned. But here, there is the immediacy of being able to see what’s happening, and what little is left is thrown into the river. There are ten types of bones and ten things that burn. In the electric crematorium, you don’t get this. Look, this is right in front of you. You can be right there with your whole party and you can be involved in making sure that your own relative is being offered to the river. Wealthy people or poor people, both can go to the crematorium. People who go to the electric crematorium don’t observe tradition and religion, but people who come here do observe those things. It used to be that the body would be burned here and Ganga pollution would bring filth to the river. That’s why both poor and rich go to the electric crematorium.

The soul of the dead person leaves the body and goes off to param athma. It goes straight up, it goes to heaven, even if it is not burned. Different people have different ideas about that. Sometimes ten, sometimes 15, or 20 bodies are burned at this ghat every day. I personally average about two or three a day.