Manikarnika: Dying the Good Death.

Varanasi by the Ganges, is a city of pilgrimage and devotion which every Hindu will endeavour to visit at some point in their lives. The ganga (water) of the holy Ganges and the fire of Manikarnika (the main Burning Ghat where cremations take place), mark the beginning and end of the path to Moksha or Nirvana . To be cremated in Varanasi is to escape the cycle of reincarnation and to reach Nirvana. Many will travel from far to die in Varanasi. The work presented here is part of a project to document the lives of the Doms or untouchables who for generations, have been in charge of the cremations in Manikarnika.