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Varanasi - India's Holy City of Death

August 8, 2024

In India, Varanasi is considered a holy city. Millions of Hindus believe that people who die here, in this city on the Ganges, are lucky.

https://p.dw.com/p/4i3qx
Varanasi - India's Holy City of Death
Hindu priests perform a daily ceremony to honour the holy river Ganges: after sunset, they pay their respects to the river with mantric chants, flowers and the scent of sandalwood.Image: HR

Because if they are cremated here, they can break the eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

Varanasi - India's Holy City of Death
Varanasi, the city where devout Hindus come to die. The ritual is always the same: a corpse is cremated and its ashes are then scattered in the sacred Ganges, whereby the believer attains salvation, moksha, and can thus free himself from the cycle of rebirth.Image: HR

Director Oliver Mayer grew up in a world in which most people are influenced by the Christian promise of eternal life. In Varanasi, he wants to understand why it is considered salvation to escape a cycle of rebirth. 

Varanasi - India's Holy City of Death
Hindus see the personified river goddess Ganga in the Ganges itself. According to the belief, a bath in the Ganges can help to get rid of all sins.Image: HR

He himself has already had to come to terms with death: A few years ago, his mother died, and it took him a long time to come to terms with his grief. He is fascinated by the fact that the end of life is not necessarily seen as negative in Hinduism. He wants to know how people manage to face death pragmatically and without fear - indeed, almost looking forward to it. 

Varanasi - India's Holy City of Death
Image: HR

Mayer visits a very special hospice for the dying in Varanasi. Here, he encounters a different, more relaxed approach to death. He meets extraordinary people. They include the priests and relatives who care for the dying, workers from lower castes who cremate the dead and children like nine-year-old Kajal, who poses for photos dressed as the deity Shiva to earn money to support herself, her mother and her little brother. 

Broadcasting Hours: 

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THU 22.08.2024 – 01:15 UTC
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