'money'karnika ghat - Benares

Death, in itself, is nothing; but we fear,

To be we know not what, we know not where.

JOHN DRYDEN

Benares ~ The place where majority of Hindus favor to go die and be cremated. Legends speak of the Ganges as the fluid medium of Shiva's divine spirit. A dip in the holy waters is believed to wash away all of one's wrongdoing. Apart from the religious attributes of death, cremation and the spectacle that circumnavigates the rituals it also comports to be a major vehicle of tourist attraction for foreigners. Or so would hawkers construe it to be

For a scrupulous bystander, there materializes a stark reality apart from experience of the proximity to death and its fearsome disposition. It is the business of death.

The bargaining begins...

Hindu religion insists on a variety of social rituals and practices called the “Antyesti” or antim (last) samskar(rites). I am not going to dive deep on the intricacies of the final ritual that takes place which necessitates the use of a lot of men and material. You need people to 'prepare' the body, stretcher, carry the stretcher and help with the convolution the ritual beckons. Here is where the humble hawkers of the Benares swoop in and what you get is outsourcing at its most basic form. You would be reminded of the 9 types of grains, earthen ware (to grow the grains) and other forgotten rituals these unassuming hawkers would love to point out to you at the last moment (with sympathy of course). Hey you can't complain! After all they are doing that to satisfy any un-realized dreams or wants of the dead body. Be thankful to them.

You can hire “help” (to be read broker) who takes care of everything for you – right from bargaining for the firewood which is sometimes also sold as sandalwood depending on how gullible on a scale of least gullible to simpleton supreme you are. Wood comes in two 'qualities' or so they claim. Quality 2 (the lower grade) is the one to look out for. Sometimes they take advantage of the grief the party is in and make profits. The brokers present a charade they are on your side and “bargain” for everything. Do appreciate them for their acting skills at least.

The brokers very fondly call you a party, but trust me it ain't a party there. The brokers gossip and wait to pounce on the next party (above).

Embers to keep the hawks warm...

Collecting ashes is the last part of the ceremony which is right about the time a few uninvited guests start lurking around. The group could be as small as one to five, the inconspicuous the better. While the parties concentrate on collecting ashes, these guests – whose faces you would always tend to remember like the math you learnt in your tenth grade, start hovering around and pick up any bits of precious metals that were left unburnt. They also collect unburnt or half burnt wooden logs and pile them up. These precious metals and the wooden logs are then taken to the group leader who restocks them into a different pile with the hawkers (hint hint ~ Quality 2). Well that is how these gang of nondescript kids earn their daily living.

The sacred Diya (a lamp that uses a cotton wick and cow ghee for burning) is lit at the end of the ceremony commemorating the dead and it needs to burn for 3 days. It is lit at the ghat and is carried away generally.

"Death doesn't bargain" Says who?!?

all pictures taken at Manikarnika Ghat ~ Benares.