Varanasi is the place Hindus would wish to die in. They believe spending their last days in Varanasi and being cremated along the Ganges River will free them from the cycle of birth, death and reincarnation. Everyday, approximately 150-250 open air cremations take place along the ghats of the Ganges River. It's a raw and fairly quick affair. He watched the entire process from a closer distance than I did. I was too disturbed with the smoke and ashes to move any closer to the cremation site. Dead bodies lie on bamboo stretchers, wrapped in white cloth like mummies. Some are covered in yellow-orange shimmering cloths with garlands of flowers all around. Untouchables lower the deceased into the holy river for his last bath. Family members decide what type of wood to use for the funeral pyre. They say their final farewells amid wails and tears. Nearby, another corpse was burning away. A charred leg was jutting out and a worker used a long bamboo pole to poke it back into the flames. That was the most horrifying image I have ever seen. Another dead body comes. It is the constant arrival of bodies brought to the burning grounds that makes death a numb and impersonal business. It's almost like disposing a piece of litter. Priest lights flame. Off you go to heaven. End of ceremony. Next one please. Death is real and it's inevitable. It's pervasive in Varanasi but it's a taboo subject in most other societies. It's not a bad idea to be exposed to death once in awhile for it is the best reminder to how we should live our present lives.