NEWS

Corpses arrive in a steady stream. It’s business as usual for the priests. Surrounded by the dead seeking moksha, they chant hymns as bells cling rhythmically. Smoke billows from five pyres that burn simultaneously as logs of wood and garlands lay scattered. “My relative just passed away. She was 89 years old. It was her last wish to be cremated on the banks of Ma Ganga,” says Rajan Tiwari as she tries to shoo away the dogs that are trying to get close to the body. “She is lucky that she got cremated here,” she adds, standing on the banks of the Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi’s hub for cremations. For Hindus across the country, being cremated on the banks of the Ganga and having their ashes immersed in the river is the highway to heaven. It is considered the way to attain moksha and escape rebirth.

Read More at : http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/Quiet-mourns-the-Ganga-choked-with-350-tonnes-of-partially-burnt-corpses/2016/08/07/article3566802.ece