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In this video I want to share my thoughts on the Burning Ghats in Varansi as well as some video of it.
The interesting thing about the Burning Ghats in Varanasi is that they are really strict about taking pictures of it or videos. They don't allow it. I'm sitting there at the burning Ghat at twilight it's getting dark and this Indian comes up to me and asks if I can take a picture of him and his friend.
I'm like oh, I don't think I can do that. Pictures are not allowed. So I turn around to this tea restaurant stand right next to where bodies are being burned and I about 10 Indians. Hey, this guy wants me to take a picture what do you guys think.
I kid you not they said oh he is Indian it's fine. So I took a picture. Then of course I took out my camera took a picture and everyone got really angry with me.
Maybe this sort of thing happens all the time, I think it does where foreigners don't get treated the same way as locals. You look at the price of the Taj Mahal it's 750 rupees for a foreigner, but 20 rupees for an India. The museum in Kolkata 500 rupees for a foreigner and maybe 20 for a local.
If you are wondering why the heck people get burned in Varanasi. In the Hindu religion there is this cycle of birth and death and Moksha is when someone leaves the cycle. Getting buried in the Gangas provides Moksha.
The fire is left to burn itself out. It's is hoped that the skull explodes to release the soul to heaven. If the skull has not cracked open the oldest son splits it in two. Then the bones and ashes are thrown into the holy Ganges river.
The wood is expensive and so it's not uncommon for partially cremated bodies to be thrown in the river.
Here is a some video of the cremation area of Varanasi in a boat before I was told to put my video camera away.
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