00:00:03
Varanasi India's holiest
00:00:07
city millions of Hindus believe whoever
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dies here will be
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saved for us death is a
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celebration here I meet people who make
00:00:20
a living from
00:00:22
[Music]
00:00:28
dying I dreamed of studying and leading
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a better life not having to do this
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job in vary I'm pushed to my
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[Music]
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limits but I also meet people with
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Incredible
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strength I'm never really
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[Music]
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afraid and I learned That Dying doesn't
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have to be a terrible
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thing one should make peace with
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[Music]
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[Music]
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death a few years ago I lost my my
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mother it took me quite some time to
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process her death I was often extremely
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sad it's said that here in this Hospice
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in Varanasi death is approached very
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differently it's known as mukti
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ban House of salvation
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[Music]
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khant dub is a priest here at mukti
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ban he begins his rituals early in the
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morning usually the priests would carry
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them out in private an exception has
00:02:19
been made for me to be present while he
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applies holy Ash to a
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stone through the process the stone
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becomes the symbol of a Hindu
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[Music]
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God the people who come to us are
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seeking salvation our guests believe
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that if they die in veranesi they can
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escape the cycle of Eternal rebirth we
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accompany them by playing songs giving
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them Basel and water from the
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Ganges can you explain to me again the
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main rules of M ban and why you have
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these
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rules is
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the people who come to us have 15 days
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to die only those seeking salvation
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should come here no one should stay here
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for free accommodation or for months the
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only aim here is
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[Music]
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salvation 15 days to die to me that
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sounds almost stressful like having a
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clock ticking for your final breaths but
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devout Hindus don't seem bothered by
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[Music]
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it are all 10 rooms full
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sometimes yes of course sometimes all
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the rooms are occupied in September or
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October all the rooms were really full
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[Music]
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so this is the
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room yes exactly this is it we have two
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beds one for the person seeking
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salvation and one for the person
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accompanying them sometimes more family
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members come then we lay out mattresses
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on the
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floor the room only costs 20 cents a
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night why is it so cheap
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[Music]
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people basically stay here for free we
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only charge 20 cents so that not too
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much electricity is
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used the low amount is also to remind
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them they shouldn't stay here with those
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indefinitely the room is really just
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meant for moving into salvation
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[Music]
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to me it seems rather sparse almost
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[Music]
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sterile and yet for many it's the best
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thing to die right here in a completely
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unfamiliar environment without any
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[Music]
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Comforts here I'll meet another person
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whose final wish is to die in Varanasi
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it's an encounter that will touch me
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[Music]
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deeply for devout Hindus Varanasi is a
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very special City it's here that one of
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their principal deities Shiva is set to
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reside India's longest river also flows
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through here the Ganges
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for many Hindus it's the physical
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manifestation of the Goddess
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ganga it's believed that bathing in the
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Ganges can help wash away all
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sins illnesses too are said to be cured
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with just one sip of the holy
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[Music]
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water hi guys
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rambali also believes in the power of
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the river for over 50 years he's been
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rowing on the
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Ganges hello how are
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you very
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well what's your name my name is Ram
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Bali I'm Oliver Ram is a god Bali stands
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for monkey god monkey Ram is an
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especially powerful
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God rambali is 73 years old he spent his
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whole life in Varanasi he tells me that
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he owes all his energy and health to the
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Ganges do you sometimes drink the water
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as well
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yes of course yes take now even now
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this now he's drinking the water is the
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water this
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water G's water holy water holy water
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holy water holy
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water Studies have shown how polluted
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the Ganges can be in
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varanas the water is so toxic that fish
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can barely survive
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here though the science seems to play a
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less important role than
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[Music]
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Faith a person must have bathed in the
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Ganges at least three times like the
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children once after birth coming first
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take the B second time the second time
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after the
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wedding and the third time after death
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the
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death is ever present on the
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Ganges sometimes even with corpses
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floating in the
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water things like that don't bother me
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at all I just keep rowing it's just a
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body the soul has long since left
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it after we die all that's left is a
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lifeless body
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a surprisingly sober thought for me I
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find it hard to separate the body from
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the essence of the
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deceased I visit the place where most
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bodies are cremated in
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Varanasi the manikan
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[Music]
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kot the smoke the smell and what I sea
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overwhelms
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[Music]
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me death is visible
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everywhere there's no attempt to hide
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the burning bodies organs or chartred
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limbs
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[Music]
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for this man it's all part of everyday
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life cremating corpses is patosi Cho
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hari's
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[Music]
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job I'm 33 years old now I first came
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here aged 13 and I burned maybe four or
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five corpses a year later it became more
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I washed the dead in the ganes it looked
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very different here back
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then I basically work all the time if I
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don't do the job who will we take care
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of
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everything no one would otherwise
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did that it must be
00:11:03
[Music]
00:11:06
tough patosi is a member of the domcast
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one of the lowest in Indian Society he
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earns about 2 and A2 Euros for a fire it
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takes about 3 hours to burn a
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body there
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for us it's all routine so it's normal
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for
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you yes I'm used to it but we still
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treat the dead as human beings we even
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talk to
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[Music]
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them the dead patosi explains to me
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ought to be buried with dignity during
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breaks he gets into the Ganges where the
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ashes of the deceased are
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scattered here he looks for valuables
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sometimes he gets lucky as he has now
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finding a
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[Applause]
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chain in the murky polluted water he can
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barely see where he is stepping
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I could cut myself in this glass here
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best to throw it
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[Music]
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away it's hard for me to comprehend the
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conditions patch cozy has to work
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under and I have immense respect for
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what he does
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I wonder if he would prefer another
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job of course I would like to follow
00:13:18
another profession but the work here
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means a lot to me if God gave me the
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opportunity of a new job I would take it
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otherwise I'll stay here
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patosi has three children it's his wish
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for them not to have to one day work
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here at the manikan
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[Music]
00:13:45
kagat I'll meet him again in a few days
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then he'll tell me his plans to create a
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better future for them
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at 6:00 a.m. I receive a message from
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the hospice they want me to come as
00:14:12
quickly as
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possible so far m one has been
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empty we just received a call from the
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owner saying that a person arrived last
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night they want to die right here in
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they've asked if we want to come and
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talk to the family so we're on our way
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there
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[Music]
00:14:45
now I have great respect for the chance
00:14:48
to meet a dying person and their family
00:15:04
some 20 family members are taking care
00:15:06
of the elderly
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man I'm suddenly uncertain if we should
00:15:12
even be
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here we are doing a movie about uh death
00:15:18
in
00:15:19
Varanasi um is it okay if we talk to you
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if we like look how you deal with the
00:15:27
whole situation is that okay for
00:15:31
you no problem at
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all we're happy to share with people who
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maybe don't know much about our religion
00:15:40
and show them how we approach this
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difficult
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[Music]
00:15:49
situation I learned that the sick man is
00:15:51
his father-in-law his name is shria
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tiar he's 82 years old old and can only
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breathe with the help of a
00:16:02
[Music]
00:16:04
ventilator MTI he can't see
00:16:07
anymore everything is
00:16:12
dark this person
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BL it's hard for
00:16:17
us he is really in a critical
00:16:23
condition
00:16:24
family but are you happy that you're
00:16:27
here in varanas
00:16:29
here very happy very very
00:16:33
happy his Blessing is always with
00:16:39
us thank you for talking to us in this
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difficult
00:16:43
time oh you came to
00:16:46
us that is really kind of you thank you
00:16:50
so much
00:17:14
[Music]
00:17:20
[Music]
00:17:23
so far this has been for me the most
00:17:25
extreme situation we have filmed
00:17:30
[Music]
00:17:33
these a famili to film The this family
00:17:37
naturally concerned for a family member
00:17:39
who's about to die has nonetheless
00:17:41
welcomed us into their
00:17:48
Circle and wants to show us how their
00:17:50
culture works how they deal with death
00:17:58
[Music]
00:18:18
I asked one of his sons satendra tar why
00:18:21
it was important enough for the whole
00:18:23
family to travel to
00:18:25
[Music]
00:18:27
Varanasi you
00:18:32
when my father dies I want him to die
00:18:34
happy I want all of the family to be
00:18:37
there until now he's been stuck in the
00:18:40
Eternal cycle of
00:18:41
rebirth by dying here in veran he should
00:18:45
finally break that
00:18:47
[Music]
00:18:50
cycle when my mother was about to die I
00:18:53
felt very very sad I feel like you
00:18:56
people are sad but also happy at the
00:18:59
same time is that
00:19:04
right yes death is a celebration for us
00:19:08
it's one of the most important rituals
00:19:10
like birth and marriage we celebrate
00:19:13
death you leave so much behind so much
00:19:16
pain in Hinduism we talk about there
00:19:18
being 8.4 million different life forms
00:19:22
to be born as a human is to be blessed
00:19:24
by
00:19:24
God only as a human can you achieve
00:19:27
salvation
00:19:34
if you miss the chance you have to go
00:19:36
through the entire cycle
00:19:42
again when did you decide that you would
00:19:45
come here to Varanasi and how did you
00:19:48
organize that the whole family can come
00:19:50
as I go to ask him the next question it
00:19:53
suddenly goes dark
00:19:58
outage here which of course is terrible
00:20:01
because the ventilator for his father
00:20:03
has now
00:20:10
stopped for the first time the room
00:20:12
grows
00:20:13
[Music]
00:20:14
restless it seems as if death has become
00:20:17
more real more tangible for the family
00:20:22
[Music]
00:20:32
[Music]
00:20:38
I suspect the family would prefer to be
00:20:40
alone for the time
00:20:44
[Music]
00:20:48
being on the banks of the Ganges I meet
00:20:51
te- seller Ram yadav
00:20:56
[Music]
00:21:00
his family has lived in Varanasi for
00:21:02
Seven
00:21:04
[Music]
00:21:12
Generations ramj you are so close to
00:21:15
manik Kanika G um what kind of people do
00:21:18
you meet um do you meet sad people do
00:21:22
you meet people that are happy that
00:21:25
their relative passed away here in
00:21:27
Varanasi what kind of impression do you
00:21:29
get from the people
00:21:32
here many people who have just lost a
00:21:35
loved one come to my tea shop it's often
00:21:37
the case that they're sad or
00:21:44
crying some struggle with losing their
00:21:46
father their mother son or other family
00:21:51
members how can you comfort these people
00:21:55
do you try to yeah give them some
00:21:57
comfort through your food through your
00:21:59
tea through talking how do you do
00:22:05
it when people tell me about their
00:22:07
problems I explain to them that God has
00:22:10
given each of us only a set number of
00:22:12
days people are always looking for money
00:22:14
or happiness but everything from birth
00:22:17
and death is predestined by God I tell
00:22:20
them there's no reason to cry they can
00:22:23
live happily and in peace everyone has
00:22:25
lost someone they loved at some point no
00:22:28
one is mortal everyone has to go
00:22:38
someday once again I'm made aware that
00:22:40
death here isn't necessarily seen as
00:22:43
something terrible I ask him if he's
00:22:45
afraid of dying
00:22:49
himself no I'm not afraid of death
00:22:52
there's no reason to worry or be afraid
00:22:55
one day I will die too I'd rather
00:22:57
Embrace death
00:22:59
it's best to make friends with
00:23:16
their evenings in
00:23:19
[Music]
00:23:20
Varanasi every day a ceremony to honor
00:23:23
the Ganges is held on the riverbank
00:23:27
[Music]
00:23:37
thousands of worshippers gather here the
00:23:39
spiritual significance the city holds
00:23:42
means many can make a living
00:23:45
[Music]
00:23:52
here kajal is 9 years old
00:23:58
[Music]
00:24:00
each day her mother paints her up as the
00:24:02
Hindu deity
00:24:05
[Music]
00:24:09
Shiva her family including a 5-year-old
00:24:12
brother has been homeless for some
00:24:24
time I don't have a husband that's why
00:24:27
we live here on the riverbank we came
00:24:30
here mainly because of my heart
00:24:31
condition to earn at least a little
00:24:36
money yes we'd like to have a room but
00:24:39
we can't afford it huh how did you get
00:24:43
the idea of her walking around dressed
00:24:46
as Lord
00:24:49
Shiva a lot of people suggested it to me
00:24:53
they told me you have no husband and you
00:24:55
need a heart operation your daughter
00:24:57
could walk around as Shiva I need about
00:25:00
500 or 600 for the operation so we're
00:25:04
trying to get the money this
00:25:21
way kajal collects around 500 rupees in
00:25:25
one day a little over 5
00:25:32
I feel bad about it but I can't see any
00:25:34
other way once I have enough money for
00:25:37
the operation I'll stop sending her
00:25:42
out what does your daughter say she
00:25:44
seems like a happy child does she
00:25:47
sometimes complain does she understand
00:25:49
what she's doing
00:25:51
there no she never complains she does a
00:25:55
lot for me she always tells me I'll live
00:25:58
only if you live that's why she's
00:26:01
collecting money for my
00:26:11
operation every afternoon follows the
00:26:13
same
00:26:18
routine after applying makeup kajal
00:26:21
mingles with the tourists hoping to
00:26:24
bring home as much money as possible
00:26:29
give me money I
00:26:33
will give me 50 cents I don't have that
00:26:39
much give it to me
00:26:43
[Music]
00:26:47
now stop
00:26:56
that show her face
00:27:00
that's
00:27:01
enough no I'm not taking that take this
00:27:04
20 cents
00:27:09
[Applause]
00:27:20
here today Kel has collected just under
00:27:23
€4 enough for a little food for her
00:27:26
family but not enough to save for the
00:27:34
[Music]
00:27:37
operation I don't feel good about what
00:27:39
I'm
00:27:40
doing I'm only doing it for my
00:27:44
mother some people even call me a
00:27:47
beggar I always tell them I'm not the
00:27:49
beggar they
00:27:53
are do you sometimes get in dangerous
00:27:56
situations or situations that you don't
00:28:01
like actually I'm never afraid I'm only
00:28:05
scared of the thought that my mother
00:28:07
might
00:28:07
die I don't want my mother to
00:28:12
[Music]
00:28:20
[Music]
00:28:24
die I admire kajal's strength and I find
00:28:27
it terrible that this 9-year-old has to
00:28:30
deal with death so early in
00:28:39
life death and life in mukba one their
00:28:43
close neighbors a man dies and right
00:28:47
next to him children
00:28:50
[Music]
00:28:55
play alongside them the family of 20
00:28:58
also needs to be taken care
00:29:06
[Applause]
00:29:16
of that's life people come here when
00:29:20
doctors have said there's nothing more
00:29:21
they can do their final wish is to come
00:29:24
to
00:29:26
God whoever dies here here in veran can
00:29:29
consider themselves
00:29:31
lucky the children of course don't
00:29:34
understand all this
00:29:35
yet they don't know what's happening
00:29:42
here now they came with the whole
00:29:44
[Music]
00:29:47
family um so can as many people come as
00:29:52
they like
00:29:58
while at least two people should
00:29:59
accompany the sick person in this case
00:30:02
it's 15 to 20 sometimes 10 or 15 family
00:30:06
members
00:30:07
come we never say no here everyone has
00:30:11
offered a roof over their head
00:30:16
[Music]
00:30:38
the dying are blessed three times a day
00:30:41
part of the ritual includes drinking a
00:30:43
drop of the gangji's holy water
00:30:55
[Music]
00:31:00
the family sees mainly the good for
00:31:02
their
00:31:03
[Music]
00:31:04
relative
00:31:07
in whoever comes here knows that there
00:31:09
will be no rebirth for them in life
00:31:12
there is so much pain you meet people
00:31:15
then part
00:31:16
ways there is so much suffering so many
00:31:19
illnesses death and barany means freedom
00:31:23
from all that the ultimate freedom
00:31:30
how much responsibility do you feel as a
00:31:34
son right now in this
00:31:38
situation well being a father is a big
00:31:41
thing no matter what I did it could
00:31:43
never be
00:31:47
enough even if I gave my own skin for
00:31:50
him I'll never be able to replace my
00:31:52
father I can never repay what he's done
00:31:55
for me
00:31:59
we try to explain this to the children
00:32:01
in the evening we pray and talk with
00:32:03
each
00:32:07
[Music]
00:32:09
other whether we're alive or not God is
00:32:12
there for
00:32:15
[Music]
00:32:15
[Applause]
00:32:16
[Music]
00:32:23
everyone I noticed the family's sadness
00:32:26
that they will soon lose a loved one one
00:32:28
yet at the same time they're happy and
00:32:30
grateful that they have fulfilled his
00:32:32
last wish that he's able to die here in
00:32:36
[Music]
00:32:46
[Music]
00:32:51
vasi on the banks of the Ganges patosi
00:32:54
Works late into the evening
00:33:00
bodies are burned here around the
00:33:06
clock it's a job the 33-year-old never
00:33:10
really
00:33:12
[Music]
00:33:18
wanted I dreamed of studying leading a
00:33:21
better life not having to do this job
00:33:23
here but I have no proper
00:33:26
education I've had many problem
00:33:28
I tried different
00:33:31
jobs nothing really worked out for
00:33:41
me he does not want his three children
00:33:44
to one day have to risk their own health
00:33:46
in the
00:33:53
smoke when my children have completed
00:33:55
their education as engineer for instance
00:33:59
they'll have a completely different
00:34:00
future ahead of them they can choose
00:34:02
other
00:34:03
professions it hurts to see the people
00:34:05
who've ended up
00:34:07
here only those who are blessed get
00:34:10
better jobs
00:34:23
nowadays he wants his children to live
00:34:25
the dream that was denied to him
00:34:31
my dream is for them to get an education
00:34:34
to become better people build a good
00:34:36
circle of friends if I can support their
00:34:40
dreams I'll do everything I can to make
00:34:42
it
00:34:45
[Music]
00:34:56
happen it's just after 5:00 a.m. it's
00:34:59
untypically quiet in M
00:35:19
ban the man just passed away
00:35:30
I feel incredibly sorry for the
00:35:33
family at the same time I believe the
00:35:36
family is glad it's over
00:35:39
now and that he will hopefully find
00:35:42
Salvation here in
00:35:48
[Music]
00:36:01
[Music]
00:36:09
I'm happy for him he did everything for
00:36:12
his family right until the last moment
00:36:15
now his family must let go they brought
00:36:18
him here to veranesi knowing this would
00:36:20
be the last station of his life
00:36:24
[Music]
00:36:38
the family will gather everything that's
00:36:40
needed for the burning of the body then
00:36:42
they'll carry the body from here to the
00:36:44
banks of the Ganges there it will be
00:36:47
decorated and then burned
00:36:50
[Music]
00:37:07
everything has to move quickly now the
00:37:09
soul is to be freed from the dead
00:37:13
[Music]
00:37:17
body while the men shoulder the physical
00:37:19
weight the women stay behind they're not
00:37:22
permitted to participate in the funeral
00:37:24
ceremony
00:37:29
[Music]
00:37:36
[Music]
00:37:42
it's aan now they're carrying him
00:37:44
through the streets of Varanasi for
00:37:46
everyone to see not even his face is
00:37:49
covered to me it's very strange of
00:37:51
course for everyone else around us it's
00:37:54
completely normal
00:38:05
[Music]
00:38:08
the relatives carry the deceased man's
00:38:10
possessions with
00:38:12
them his belongings will be given
00:38:15
away it would bring bad luck to keep
00:38:18
them in the family after his death
00:38:27
[Music]
00:38:35
[Applause]
00:38:43
arrival at the banks of the
00:38:45
Ganges where the deceased is to be
00:38:48
burned
00:39:01
in the moment of grief fixed rituals
00:39:03
Provide
00:39:07
support before the funeral the eldest
00:39:09
son of the family has his head shaved a
00:39:12
way to pay respect to his
00:39:18
father in the meantime firewood for the
00:39:21
funeral P needs to be organized it costs
00:39:24
about €100 for the 400 Kil
00:39:35
needed the family places their relative
00:39:37
onto the wood
00:39:40
[Music]
00:39:44
themselves then finally the fire is
00:39:52
ignited the eldest son touches his
00:39:55
father's skull three times symbolic
00:39:58
gesture the skull is supposed to break
00:40:00
open releasing the
00:40:11
soul it's time for the farewells
00:40:24
[Music]
00:40:33
I think of the
00:40:35
family what must be going through their
00:40:37
minds during the
00:40:39
[Music]
00:40:46
fire for them a 13-day period of
00:40:49
mourning now begins
00:40:53
[Music]
00:41:13
I was in Varanasi for 3 weeks it was the
00:41:17
most intense shoot of my
00:41:19
[Music]
00:41:21
life it was a period in which I felt sad
00:41:25
thoughtful and at the same time
00:41:32
happy when I arrived I thought to myself
00:41:35
how could anyone want to die here in
00:41:37
this crowded noisy place where the smell
00:41:40
of burned bodies is in the air
00:41:42
everywhere now I've at least to some
00:41:44
extent developed an understanding of it
00:41:47
I've learned why people have a more
00:41:48
positive approach to death this shoot is
00:41:51
also changed me personally I've noticed
00:41:53
that my fear of dealing with death has
00:41:55
fallen away more and more
00:41:58
death in a way is part of life I find
00:42:01
that a really beautiful and reassuring
00:42:03
thought
