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  • Gopal Jee Singh, 65, from Bihar, holds a butter lamp above his dead wife Subhadra Singh, 60 for a local photographer who takes photographs at the burning ghats and sells prints to families that want a keepsake. Subhadra died last night at 8 p.m. and he and his sons brought her here to Varanasi for the funeral rite, arriving at 3 a.m..Mr. Singh says that his wife didn't want to be cremated and so he and their sons brought her here to the Ganges for a different funeral ritual then most others have.
    IND_040412_748_x.jpg
  • In the narrow streets leading down to the Manikarnika Ghat, in Varanasi, India, many elderly people lounge about, whiling away their time.
    IND_040410_150_x.jpg
  • Gopal Jee Singh, 65, from Bihar, holds a butter lamp above his dead wife Subhadra Singh, 60 for a local photographer who takes photographs at the burning ghats and sells prints to families that want a keepsake. Subhadra died last night at 8 p.m. and he and his sons brought her here to Varanasi for the funeral rite, arriving at 3 a.m.
    IND_040412_304_x.jpg
  • An elderly widow living out her last days near the Manikarnika Ghat, in Varansi, India..Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore?a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death. Not every Hindu can be cremated here, because of transportation costs and logistical considerations.
    IND_040410_311_x.jpg
  • Firewood for cremation. A worker carries a piece of wood from one of the wood laden boats moored at the shore up to the stockpile area. The wood is chopped into smaller pieces and, when paid for by a family, is used to build funeral pyres at Jalasi Ghat (at Manikarnika Ghat) in Varanasi, India.
    IND_040410_097_x.jpg
  • Faith D'Aluisio and Neha Diddee wait for an official at the Varanasi, India, police station to give them the official document permitting photography of cremation on the city's burning ghats on the Ganges River. Normally it is forbidden to photograph cremation ceremonies at The Mother Ganges, as the Hindis who consider its waters sacred call it. Varanasi, India.
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  • The eldest son, Brajesh Kumar Singh, accompanies the body of his mother, Subhadra Singh, 60, to the center of the Ganges River for a water burial as her husband Gopal Jee Singh, 65, stands on the shore at Jalasi ghat and watches. The body is weighed down with a rock and will be released into the water, as was Subhadra's wish, rather than being cremated.
    IND_040412_708_x.jpg
  • Pilgrims take their turn to bath in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
    IND_040419_440_xxw.jpg
  • A worker carries a piece of wood from one of the wood laden boats moored at the banks of the Ganges River. The wood is chopped into smaller pieces and, when paid for by a family, is used to build funeral pyres at Jalasi Ghat (at Manikarnika Ghat) in Varanasi, India.
    IND_040412_712_x.jpg
  • A Hindu priest pours an offering of ghee onto a fire at the Shiva Temple, which is built into the Kid's Kemp Shopping Mall on Old Airport Road in Bangalore, India. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) The 65-foot plaster statue of Lord Shiva sits in a lotus position before an amusement park-style Himalayan mountain-scape built of chicken wire and cement. This free popular attraction at the Kids Kemp shopping mall draws nearly 500,000 devotees on festival days.
    IND_081207_173_xxw.jpg
  • Ascetic Hindu Priest--called a Sadhu, cloaks himself in a funeral shroud used to adorn bodies before they are cremated (left behind by mourners) at the main burning ghat in Varanasi.
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  • Ritual waters from the Ganges River are poured onto the face of the body of Savitridevi Mishra, who lived near the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat. Wrapped in a shroud of yellow and gold and decorated with marigold garlands, the woman will be burned upon a funeral pyre at the cremation grounds in a rite officiated by the eldest living male in her family.
    IND_040417_349_x.jpg
  • Peter Menzel photographing at Manikarnika Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi India. The Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat.
    IND_040417_245_x.jpg
  • An exhausted mourner sits above the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat and lets ashes rain down on him. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death.
    IND_040417_173_x.jpg
  • Durga Tiwari, 35, is comforted by a family member as her mother, Savitridevi Mishra, is taken to the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat.
    IND_040416_533_x.jpg
  • Durga Tiwari, 35, is comforted by a family member as her mother, Savitridevi Mishra, is taken to the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat. This after the body has been washed, draped in a red and yellow shroud and marigold garlands and photographed for a family remembrance.
    IND_040416_515_x.jpg
  • A young Nepalese boy studying sanskrit at an ashram in Varanasi was swimming with friends in the Ganges River and drowned.
    IND_040415_340_x.jpg
  • This is the last letter written by a young Nepalese boy studying sanskrit at an ashram in Varanasi who was swimming with friends in the Ganges River and drowned.
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  • A man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre at the Harishchandra cremation grounds. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040415_078_x.jpg
  • A young girl in a rowboad sells floating votive candles to mourners and also tourists near the Dashashwamedh Ghat, on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India.
    IND_040414_281_x.jpg
  • A young girl in a rowboad sells floating votive candles to mourners and also tourists near the Dashashwamedh Ghat, on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India.
    IND_040414_280_x.jpg
  • A young Nepalese boy studying sanskrit at an ashram in Varanasi was swimming with friends in the Ganges River and drowned. Here his friend (to the right of the man with the beard) who was swimming with him tells the authorities how he drowned right after the boy disappeared beneath the murky waters of the Ganges. His teacher called his parents in Kathmandu but did not tell the reason why. When his father, Bhim Prasad Bastola, arrived in Varanasi on a bus, he was told of the death of his 15-year-old son Chudamani Bastola and the cremation ceremony was held shortly thereafter.
    IND_040413_313_x.jpg
  • Death is part of the fabric of life for Hindus and like much of Indian society, takes place in open view. In the early morning men and women wash clothes in the river, slapping dhoti, saris, and other pieces of clothing against rocks and cement slabs as others tend to the bodies burning on the shore at Harishchandra Ghat.
    IND_040413_308_x.jpg
  • Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, India. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death.
    IND_040413_292_x.jpg
  • A lone goat at the Harishchandra Ghat eats marigold garlands that once adorned the bodies dipped into the Ganges River for final ritual baths before cremation in Varansi, India. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040412_999_x.jpg
  • Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death. Not every Hindu can be cremated here, because of transportation costs and logistical considerations.
    IND_040412_721_x.jpg
  • A young girl picks her way along the shoreline as a body burns at the Harishchandra cremation grounds. Just up river a man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040412_411_x.jpg
  • A rowboat passes, distorted by the heat waves rising from a body burning at the Harishchandra cremation grounds on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. Just up river a man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040412_361_x.jpg
  • A body wrapped in bright orange funeral cloth purchased from one of the many funeral vendors that line the narrow streets above Manikarnika Ghat is carried to the edge of the Ganges River for cremation as another body is being readied for burning. Surrounded by boats loaded with wood used for burning the bodies, workers stack the wood that a family has purchased from the ghat's managers for the cremation ritual.
    IND_040410_366_x.jpg
  • Boats on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India, with the Dasasvamedha Ghat in the background. Colorful and popular Dasasvamedha Ghat gets a lot of attention from religious pilgrims, locals, and tourists alike and is one of the busiest bathing ghats in the city of Varanasi.
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  • The main mourner, usually the eldest son or closest male family member, prepares for cremation rituals by getting his head and face shaved. There are a prescribed set of rituals for the entire process that started at the family's home with the washing of the body and wrapping for the travel to the burning ghats. The main mourner's hair and facial hair is shorn, (cost 15 rupees, by one of the many barbers near the ghats) and his nails are cut. Family members at home also are shaved and cut.
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  • Woodcarvers, Mysore, South India.
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  • Sweet, fried boondi, a spiced chickpea flour confection, is prepared for pilgrims in a camp at an ashram during the Kumbh Mela festival in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) Every camp has its own large/small kitchen where food is prepared for people residing in that particular camp as well as outsiders who would walk in and out for lunch/dinner. Boondi can be a savory preparation or even sweet. A thin consistency dough is prepared using gram flour, water and spices. This boondi can be made sweet by putting in sugar syrup (prepared separately) and soaked in the syrup. Cardamom, dry fruits may be added in the syrup for flavor. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040423_017_xx_xw.jpg
  • A painted pachyderm pauses for a snack of discarded cauliflower leaves and receives blessings from an admirer during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. Elephants, like cows and other animals, are shown respect throughout India, and Hindu deities are often represented in their form. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040423_011_xxw.jpg
  • A pilgrim at the Kumbh Mela festival in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040420_002_xw.jpg
  • Pilgrims take their turn to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Hindus believe that the rivers in the Indian cities of Allahabad, Haridwar, Nasik, and Ujjain are sacred, and that bathing in those rivers during the religious festival Kumbh Mela will release them from past sins and mistakes and liberate them from the cycle of birth and death. Auspicious bathing days are determined by the position of the sun and the moon, and on these days more than a million pilgrims might descend for a dip. In Ujjain, thousands of police control the crowds at the Shipra River with whistles, poles, and batons to prevent stampedes and drownings, and bathing time is kept to 12 minutes per group. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors. The festival attracts more pilgrims than any other religious gathering on the planet, including Islam's Hajj.
    IND_040419_005_xw.jpg
  • A holy man at the Kumbh Mela Festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India claims to only drink one glass of milk per day and be 140 years old. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040423_019_x.jpg
  • A man practices yoga along the street of pilgrims during the Kumbh Mela Festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.  The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.  During the festival hundreds of ashrams set up free cafeterias and dusty, sprawling camps that stretch for miles. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims file past the different groups on the way to and from the river and their own dusty camps.
    IND_040423_018_x.jpg
  • Hindu holy men prepare tea at the Kumbh Mela festival in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. During the festival hundreds of ashrams set up free cafeterias and dusty, sprawling camps that stretch for miles. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims file past the different groups on the way to and from the river and their own dusty camps. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
    IND_040423_014_x.jpg
  • An elephant roaming the streets is fed cabbage scraps during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040423_012_x.jpg
  • Distributing food to Ashram members during KUMBH MELA in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040423_004_x.jpg
  • Watching a parade from a hotel by the Shipra River during Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_020_x.jpg
  • Early morning swim of nagas on the banks of the Shipra River on an auspicious day for bathing during Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India. After a dip in the river they rub ashes on their naked bodies...Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_016_x.jpg
  • Bathing in the Shipra River during Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_013_x.jpg
  • Nagas (Hindu ascetics who are followers of Sadhus) congregate to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_011_x.jpg
  • Nagas (Hindu ascetics who are followers of Sadhus) congregate to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_009_x.jpg
  • Nagas (Hindu ascetics who are followers of Sadhus) congregate to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_008_x.jpg
  • Nagas (Hindu ascetics who are followers of Sadhus) congregate to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors..
    IND_040422_007_x.jpg
  • A Sadhu (Hindu ascetic) during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_005_x.jpg
  • The crowded Ujjain train station during Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.
    IND_040421_001_x.jpg
  • A pilgrim during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040419_007_x.jpg
  • Pilgrims performing ceremonies on the banks of the Shipra River while bating during Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040419_006_x.jpg
  • Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040419_004_x.jpg
  • Pilgrims performing ceremonies on the banks of the Shipra River while bating during Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040419_003_x.jpg
  • A crowd gathers before dawn on a bridge over the Shipra River which flows through the holy city of Ujjain, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh during the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela. Every 12 years, millions of devout Hindus celebrate the month-long festival of Kumbh Mela by bathing in the Shipras holy waters. Hundreds of ashrams set up dusty, sprawling camps that stretch for miles. Under the watchful eye of police and lifeguards, the Patkar family of Ujjain, India join the faithful throng in the cool of the evening and bathe in the river, too. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 169).
    IND_040419_001_x.jpg
  • A naga sadhu at Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India, doing yoga and giving blessing with a feather duster to people who approach with donations. The sign says his name is Mahan Birij, welcome, and that he is the disciple of Sivaratri. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.)
    IND_040418_001_x.jpg
  • IND_040417_239_x<br />
Peter Menzel photographing at Manikarnika Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi India. The Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one’s body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore—a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death. Not every Hindu can be cremated here, because of transportation costs and logistical considerations. Sometimes a body is burned in one location and the ashes brought to Varanasi. There are other rivers in India, such as the Shipra which flows through the sacred city of Ujjain, that are considered sacred as well, but none holds the importance of the Ganges. Sometimes a small dummy representing the person will be burned at Jalasi.<br />
Only male family members are present and tend to the bodies at the cremation site as no show of emotion is allowed and also, they don’t want any of them jumping onto the fire, says one manager at the ghat. The body is carried to the water’s edge for a last dip, and then the main mourner prepares for his role in the ritual burning.<br />
The main mourner—usually the eldest son or closest male family member’s hair and facial hair is shorn, and his nails are cut. He wears a simple dhoti (traditional Indian male’s wraparound clothing). The chief mourner follows a prescribed ritual, which involves circling the body and showering it with ghee (clarified butter) and incense—like sandalwood—again often purchased from one of the local funereal accessories vendors. It takes about three hours for an average sized body to burn completely. If a family is poor and doesn’t have enough money to buy the right amount of wood to burn the body, then wood left over from other fires might be used. It takes about 350 kilos of wood to burn a body completely.<br />
Afterward, the workers dump ashes from the burned pyres and douse
    IND_040417_239_x.jpg
  • Durga Tiwari, 35, is comforted by a family member as her mother, Savitridevi Mishra, is taken to the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat. This after the body has been washed, draped in a red and yellow shroud and marigold garlands and photographed for a family remembrance.
    IND_040417_329_x.jpg
  • Durga Tiwari, 35, attends to her dead mother, Savitridevi Mishra, just before she is taken to the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat.
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  • A relative splashes Ganges River water onto the face of Savitridevi Mishra at the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat.
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  • A woman named Savitridevi Mishra died at 4 o'clock this morning and lies on the paving stones in the center of a square ringed by apartments near Manikarnika Ghat and the cremation grounds of Jalasi Ghat. A local photographer has come to take a commemorative photograph (at left).
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  • A man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre at the Harishchandra cremation grounds. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040415_058_x.jpg
  • A young girl in a rowboad sells floating votive candles to mourners and also tourists near the Dashashwamedh Ghat, on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India.
    IND_040414_282_x.jpg
  • Madru Choudhary, is the chief custodian of the Harishchandra ghat in Varanasi, India. He was 45 at the time the photo was taken and his family has been "in the business" for generations. Harishchandra is the smaller of the two ghats used for the cremation of thousands of Hindus each year. They are of the Dom caste which historically has included traders, weavers, scavengers, and musicians.  (His first name can also be spelled Matru. His last name is also spelled Chaudary, or Chaudhery).Varanasi, India.
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  • Death is part of the fabric of life for Hindus and like much of Indian society, takes place in open view. In the early morning men and women wash clothes in the river, slapping dhoti, saris, and other pieces of clothing against rocks and cement slabs as others tend to the bodies burning on the shore at Harishchandra Ghat. A man uses a long bamboo pole that once was part of the litter fashioned to carry a body to the cremation grounds at Harishchandra Ghat to flip the unburned legs and arms back into the fire. He uses the pole to smash the skulls open as well so that it burns more easily. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
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  • Male family members perform the rituals of Hindu cremation at the Harishchandra Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. Other fires burn bodies that have already had their cremation ritual. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River. An electric crematorium opened at the site in 1986 but had technical problems and never caught on. The method of cremation by wood fire is steeped in tradition and still favored.
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  • The "eternal fire" at the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat. All funeral pyres are lighted from embers from this fire which burns above the ghat. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore,  place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death.
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  • A rowboat passes, distorted by the heat waves rising from a body burning at the Harishchandra cremation grounds on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. Just up river a man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
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  • Along the shoreline a body burns at the Harishchandra cremation grounds on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. Just up river a man dries the clothes he just washed in the Ganges in the heat of a burning funeral pyre. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
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  • The main mourner, usually the eldest son or closest male family member, prepares for cremation rituals by getting his head and face shaved. There are a prescribed set of rituals for the entire process that started at the family's home with the washing of the body and wrapping for the travel to the burning ghats. The main mourner's hair and facial hair is shorn, (cost 15 rupees, by one of the many barbers near the ghats) and his nails are cut.
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  • Brilliant spectacles of light from handheld towers of candles, held by priests and other Hindis during religious rites (pujas). Colorful and popular Dasasvamedha Ghat gets a lot of attention from religious pilgrims, locals, and tourists alike and is one of the busiest bathing ghats in the city of Varanasi.
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  • Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) congregate to bathe in the Shipra River during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • Hundreds of Nagas (naked ascetic holy men) stand on the riverbank of the Shipra River in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India just moments before plunging in for a ritual bath to mark the Kumbh Mela festival. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)  The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • A home shrine in the of house Shashi Kanth, next to their TV. Shashi Kanth is a call center worker who works at an AOL call center in Bangalore, India.  (Shashi Kanth is featured in the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.)
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  • Nagas take an early morning swim on the banks of the Shipra River on an auspicious day for bathing during Kumbh Mela festival in Ujjain, India. After a dip in the river, they rub ashes on their naked bodies. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers.  Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world.  Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_017_xw.jpg
  • The colorful and popular Dasasvamedha Ghat  in the city of Varanasi, India, gets a lot of attention from religious pilgrims, locals, and tourists alike and is one of the busiest bathing ghats in Varanasi. A ghat is a stairway in India leading down to a landing on the water.
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  • Bells adorn the top of a shrine overlooking the Ganges river at the Harishchandra Ghat in Varanasi, India. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River. An electric crematorium opened at the site in 1986 but had technical problems and never caught on. The method of cremation by wood fire is steeped in tradition and still favored. Cremation practices here at Harishchandra are the same as those at the larger Jalasi Ghat, at Manikarnika Ghat. It is sometimes called Adi Manikarnika ("the original cremation ground"). Varanasi, India. A ghat is a stairway in India leading down to a landing on the water.
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  • A young girl in a rowboad sells floating votive candles to mourners and tourists near the Dashashwamedh Ghat, on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India. The most visited ghat of Varanasi by religious pilgrims, Dashashwamedh ghat is the most beautiful ghat in the city. The ghat is close to the famous 'Vishwanath Temple' and is therefore of high religious importance. The most enticing part is the evening 'Puja' performed by the group of priests. Also known as the 'Fire Puja', the ceremony is a dedication to River Ganges, Sun, Lord Shiva, Fire and the whole universe. The Ghats finds mention in the old religious texts, as it is said that lord Brahma created the ghats to welcome lord Shiva.
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  • Preparing boondi in Ujjain, India, at one of the camps at the Kumbh Mela site. Every camp had its own large/small kitchen where food is prepared for people residing in that particular camp as well as outsiders who would walk in and out for lunch/dinner. Boondi can be a savory preparation or even sweet. A thin consistency dough is prepared using gram flour, water and spices. This boondi can be made sweet by putting in sugar syrup (prepared separately) and soaked in the syrup. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats). The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.
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  • Preparing boondi in Ujjain, India, at one of the camps at the Kumbh Mela site. Every camp had its own large/small kitchen where food is prepared for people residing in that particular camp as well as outsiders who would walk in and out for lunch/dinner. Boondi can be a savory preparation or even sweet. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats).
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  • A crippled street beggar naps on the ground during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • A Sadhu (Hindu ascetic) smoking ganja in a clay chillum during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • At an Ashram during Kumbh Mela in Ujjain, India. The man reading a book had taken a vow of silence and could not talk to us. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • Lines of nagas head for an early morning swim in the Shipra River on an auspicious day for bathing during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
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  • A Sadhu (Hindu ascetics) with his naga followers on a float during a parade during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_004_x.jpg
  • A gathering of Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest religious festivals on earth, attracting millions from all over India and the world. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_003_x.jpg
  • Pre-dawn swim of nagas on the banks of the Shipra River on an auspicious day for bathing during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_002_x.jpg
  • Pre-dawn swim of nagas on the banks of the Shipra River on an auspicious day for bathing during the Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar. Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors.
    IND_040422_001_x.jpg
  • Pilgrims resting near the Shipra River during Kumbh Mela festival, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India. The Kumbh Mela festival is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage held 4 times every 12 years, cycling between the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Hardiwar.  Participants of the Mela gather to cleanse themselves spiritually by bathing in the waters of India's sacred rivers. Past Melas have attracted up to 70 million visitors. (Supporting image from the project Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.).
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  • Peter Menzel photographing at Manikarnika Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi India. The Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat.
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  • Mourners comfort each other at the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death.
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  • The clay Kumbha (water pot) has a special significance in the Hindu cremation ritual. It is blessed in the early stages of the ritual and then, most often during the series of rituals designed to ensure the proper path in death for a loved one, the Kumbha is carried by a mourner three times around the burning body then dropped (and it breaks).
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  • Dashashwamedh Ghat is the most visited ghat of Varanasi by religious pilgrims, Dashashwamedh ghat is the most beautiful ghat in city. The ghat is close to the famous 'Vishwanath Temple' and is therefore of high religious importance. The most enticing part is the evening 'Puja' performed by the group of priests. Also called as 'Fire Puja', the ceremony is a dedication to River Ganges, Sun, Lord Shiva, Fire and the whole universe. The Ghats finds mention in the old religious texts, as it is said that lord Brahma created the ghats to welcome lord Shiva.  Early morning.  Varanasi, India..
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  • A potbellied man floats during an early morning swim in the river Ganga. Near the Dashashwamedh ghat. Colorful and popular Dasasvamedha Ghat gets a lot of attention from religious pilgrims, locals, and tourists alike and is one of the busiest bathing ghats in the city of Varanasi.
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  • The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
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  • A young Nepalese boy studying sanskrit at an ashram in Varanasi was swimming with friends in the Ganges River and drowned.
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  • These bells adorn the top of a shrine overlooking the Ganges river at the Harishchandra Ghat, Varanasi, India. The Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges River.
    IND_040415_138_x.jpg
  • Bodies arrive day and night from far and near to be cremated at Jalasi Ghat, the cremation grounds at Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi, India. One hundred or more times a day male family members carry a loved one's body through the narrow streets on a bamboo litter to the Ganges River shore?a place of pilgrimage for Hindus during life, and at death. Not every Hindu can be cremated here, because of transportation costs and logistical considerations. Sometimes a body is burned in one location and the ashes brought to Varanasi.
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  • People sleep near the piles of wood for cremation fires on the banks of the Ganges River near the Harishchandra Ghat (also known as the Harish Chandra Ghat) which is the smaller and more ancient of the two primary cremation grounds in Varanasi.
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  • Male family members carry a body to the edge of the Ganges River for a final ritual dip before cremation at the Harishchandra Ghat in Varansi, India. Other fires burn bodies that have already had their cremation ritual.
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