The tour has now finished by Debbie and I are in Kathmandu for 1 more day and we decide to do some sightseeing. We take a taxi just outside the city to visit a holy Hindu sight by the banks of the Bagmati river. There is a huge Hindu temple here, which non-Hindus are not allowed to enter and it is also where many Hindus choose to be cremated.
The whole place is a strange mixture of religious significance and tourist attraction. On the approach to the site there are many stalls selling things to locals and tourist and once inside the site we are approached by several people who would like to be our guide. We turn them down and rely on our guide book. It is peculiar that tourists come here to see Hindu cremations and that's part of what we have come for too. We don't wish to be disrespectful, but to understand a little more about their culture. We cross the bridge over the holy river and look from the opposite side.
Photo 1 of bridge over the river
Photo 2 of Pushupatinath Temple
Below the Pushupatinath Temple only the richest people are cremated. There is a fire burning here, which is the remnants of a cremation. When the fire dies down the ashes will be swept into the river.
Photos 3 and 4 of cremation fire
There are two bodies lying on the ghats. One is lying near the river covered in an orange shroud and the other is lying on a step, covered in a white shroud. People are gathering on the ghats in preparation for this cremation.
Photo 5 of funeral preparations
Funerals are obviously very public affairs, as is seemingly every other aspect of their daily lives. Other activities go on nearby: lower down the steps some boys are using a spade to look for coins in the mud of the river. On the opposite bank 2 small boys are stripped to the waist and drive off the steps and swim in the river.
Below the bridge is the area where poorer people are cremated. Here there is one fire burning, but there are no relatives in evidence.
Photo 6 ghats below the bridge
We did not see a ceremony, but I have had it described to me by others. Apparently the body is carried by the sons, with the eldest at the front. They walk it 3 times around the prepared wood pile and place it on the top. Men have their heads facing north and women have their heads facing south. The dead person's head is shaved and so are the heads of the sonssons. The sons put their shaved hair on the pile. The eldest son gets some water from the holy river and puts it into the dead person's mouth. Then they light the fire and it gets going very quickly, then they put straw on top of the body and the whole thing goes up. Apparently it only takes an hour or so for the body to be burned and when it has all died down they push the ashes into the river.
On the bank of the river where we are walking a huge bamboo swing has been constructed for the Dashain festival. Hindus believe that once a year they must leave the ground and we have seen these swings being constructed in many settlements over the last few days.
Photo 7 of bamboo swing
Across from the bridge there are stone steps leading up the hill. Up here there are many small one-room Shiva temples. Walking past them is slightly surreal, as they are used as shelters by Sadhus and looking into a temple you are never quite sure if there will be someone lying down inside, or peering out.
Photo 8 steps up from the bridge
Photo 9 of Debbie peering through a Shiva temple
Sadhus are Hindu holy men, who have given up all possessions and are supported by donations from people. Smoking marijuiana is generally illegal in India, but the Sadhus are allowed to smoke as it is considered necessary for their spiritual life. They dress in outlandish costumes and make up and are happy to have their photos taken in return for money in order to supplement their income.
Two sadhus see me and Debbie coming up the steps they call out to us to come and sit down to have a photo and a blessing. Debbie has some US dollars and we had already agreed that we would give them 1 dollar each. As we talk to them and start to take photos other sadhus come over and join in. In the end there are 6 of them and they each get a dollar. As we are leaving one of them comes over with a handful of £1 coins and he wants me to take them and change them for Nepal rupees, but I can't help him. I don't want a handful of £1 coins either.
Photos 10 3 sadhus
Photo 11 me with 4 sadhus
Photo 12 6 sadhus
Then we carry on walking up the hill on the way to our next sightseeing destination of Bodnath.
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