_kashi: city of death
Said to have been founded over 5,000 years ago by Lord Shiva, Kashi (also known as Varanasi or Benares) is one of the oldest continually-inhabited cities in the world. Situated along the banks of the river Ganges, Kashi is central to the Hindu religion of India. According to the scriptures, to die in Kashi grants one 'moksha' or liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. To die here...and only here...liberates the soul and it is for this reason that the elderly from the subcontinent come to depart this life in the flames that burn eternal.
An elderly man awaits his death at a hospice facility in Varanasi, India on May12, 2010.
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Men gather along the banks of the Ganges to attend to cremations in Varanasi, India on May14, 2010.
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A man splits wood for funeral pyres in Varanasi, India on May12, 2010.
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A man carries wood from the banks of the river Ganges to the funeral ghat in Varanasi, India on May12, 2010.
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A family member of the deceased poses for a portrait in Varanasi, India on May11, 2010.
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Men carry a stretcher from the banks of the Ganges to a funeral pyre in Varanasi, India on May11, 2010. The deceased is cleansed in the waters of the Ganges prior to cremation.
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Men ignite the wood of a funeral pyre in Varanasi, India on May11, 2010.
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A body burns atop a funeral pyre in Varanasi, India on May11, 2010.
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Family members rotate a corpse atop a funeral pyre in Varanasi, India on May14, 2010.
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Members of the Untouchable caste who work the funeral ghat, sift through ash and dirt looking for jewelry and gold teeth in Varanasi, India on May11, 2010.
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An elderly woman awaits her death in Varanasi, India on May12, 2010.
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