A morning spent with the Dom Community of Manikarnika Ghat

All ghats of Varanasi are beautiful and unique in their own way, all ghats have a different story and you will have a different experience and vibe at each ghat, but Manikarnika ghat is an altogether different world. There are many unforgettable experiences in life but my experience at Manikarnika ghat was a lot more than unforgettable. Whenever I recall it, I relive it.

The day I reached Varanasi I knew nothing about importance of any of the ghats. I heard about Manikarnika ghat from people and hence did some research out of curiosity and then I realized I can't miss it. I got up at 5 am one morning and walked to Manikarnika ghat.

THE BURNING GHAT….

Manikarnika ghat is also known as the burning ghat because the funeral pyres are always burning at the ghat. It is believed that if a human is cremated at this ghat, he/she will attain salvation. There is a beautiful Shiva temple at the ghat. I met some locals there whom I asked about the story of Manikarnika ghat. It is said that Lord Vishnu prayed for Lord Shiva to descend to earth from heaven. The place where Lord Shiva came with his wife Parvati was this ghat, that's why the place is considered as one of the holiest places on earth. Lord Vishnu built a kund for Shiva to have a bath and while having a bath his earring (Mani of Karnika- Ear) fell into the bathing kund and nobody could find it, hence the name.

HOLY YET UNTOUCHABLE…

The ghat in itself is very beautiful, but there is a narrow gully that leads to a part of the ghat where the funeral pyres are set, and all dead bodies are brought for final rituals. There was not a single woman around. There I met a person who introduced himself as Kalu Dom (Not the one in the picture below), the leader of Dom community. Dom community is known as the keeper of the holy flame. Performing the cremation of bodies is all they do, day and night. The women of the community are never allowed to be present anywhere near the cremation ground. People believe that the soul attains salvation or Mukti only if the Dom lights the pyre, and yet they are known and treated as untouchables, isn't it ironic?

WATCHING THE DEAD TO MAKE A LIVING…

He was repeatedly talking about Om (considered as the life energy and hence the beginning of everything) and Dom. He was constantly repeating his name while talking, as if he was trying to remind himself of his identity and ascertain the fact that he was alive. He did not seem in his complete senses, but if for 24 hours you see nothing but corpses burning, you can't expect the person to seem normal. They literally watch the dead to make a living!

DEATH ALSO HAS AN END….

He showed me an area referring to it as their temple of Bhootnath (Another name of Shiva), that’s where he put the tika on my forehead and said these are holy ashes. I stood there for half an hour and watched it from a very close distance, the dead bodies engulfing in flames, the flesh slowly turning into ashes. It is a very lengthy process. We feel death is the end of everything but watching those bodies burning made me realize that death is also a process and death also has an end.

THERE IS OM, AND THERE IS DOM, EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN IS ONLY AN ILLUSION…

When I entered the area, I wasn’t sure if I will be allowed to go so near, but surprisingly nobody objected. Yes, I got some tough looks from some elderly. But I feel fortunate to have that experience and grateful to the people around for letting me have that experience even though it's considered as a taboo for women to be present near funeral pyres and to interact with the Dom community people. It’s quite ironic that seeing death so closely makes you truly realize the importance of being alive. I will never forget that 1 hour. People come there to offer prayers for the deceased, but I stood there and prayed for the Dom community, that their new generations get to see the world outside the cremation ground, that they can explore the beauty of this world and get to live a normal life. And as I was leaving, Kalu Dom said something that will stay with me forever. He said - “Always remember, there is Om, and there is Dom, everything in between is only an illusion”