Any use of any images in this website in violation of a written permit by the Author is a violation of european laws on intellectual property rights and is prohibited by these Terms of Use.

The dead are carried down the ghat on a stretcher borne on the shoulders of either the males of the family or professional pallbearers. The corpse is wrapped in brightly coloured fabric (yellow, red, orange, gold, silver). No weeping can be heard either during the funeral procession or the cremation itself. The deceased’s body is sprinkled with clarified butter in order to help the cremation along, while sandalwood is continually thrown onto the pyre to keep the fire going. The pile of wood, once alight, then begins to emit a dense cloud of acrid smoke that seems to go directly to the lungs. The small crowd assembled watches on in silence while the wood gradually disintegrates and the deceased’s body is rapidly consumed by the flames. All this takes place without any discernible distress or particular sense of tragedy. Life and death here are deeply intertwined, with death considered as much a part of daily living as life itself.