In Kathmandu, in an area called Pashupatinath, the Nepalese cremate the dead on raised platforms along the Bagmati river. Running down from the Himalayas, the Bagmati river meets up with the Ganges and flows down to the holy city of Varnassi.
The air is thick with the smoke of the dead; mourners shuffle about in silence. Monkeys pick through the offerings like oblivious goons. A ghost like presence haunts just above your shoulder at this Hindu burial site. The bodies burn slowly and the ashes join the river.