Here are funeral ghats. A ghat is a staircase leading down to a body of water. Here, people cremate their dead.
Part of the Hindu temple complex.
A Hindu priest performs a ritual.
Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) look on.
A sadhu (holy man) dressed as Hanuman, the monkey god.
Another sadhu
Next, we went to Boudnath, site of a famous Buddhist stupa.
A closeup of the Buddha's all-seeing eyes. Underneath, where the nose would be, is the Indic numeral 1, standing for the unity of all things. Above and between the eyes is a dot (hard to see here), which is the "third eye", standing for the insight of the Buddha.
Pilgrims come here to walk a circuit around the stupa.
Prayer wheel
Day 2
Today I split off from the group (yes, it's a package tour!) to go on a mission of my own, which was to visit the British Cemetery. What an amazing place! An island of peace and beauty in the midst of chaos. I photographed every grave, and met a New Zealander who is also interested in cemeteries and the history of the British presence on the subcontinent, who regaled me with historical facts and urged me to go graving in India.
British Cemetery
To see more about this cemetery, check out my Graving Blog.
