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Cremation and the funeral pyre ( Graphic content )

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
The followers of the Hindu religion cremate their deceased. In Nepal, I visited a communal site for
performing this religious rite.

You will find a pictorial essay of my visit in my diary on this site.

A few of the images are specifically graphic and some might find them disturbing. I for sure was very
upset for a few days after visiting the site.

p469622581.jpg
 

Rachel Foster

New member
The onlookers seem so matter-of-fact. Quite an enlightening image for those of us in the West who are not familiar with customs in Nepal.
 

Ivan Garcia

New member
Hello Fahim
Once again a very worthy image.
I am however uncomfortable with it being here in the Street photography forum.
Although quiet innocent looking by itself, your description of what is actually happening makes this very disturbing indeed.
I think it will find a better home within the Provocative Thoughts and Images forum.
That way people looking at the image will be informed that it could be disturbing and enter the post fully aware of that fact.
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
Rachel, I was in the crowd ( without a camera in deference to the relatives and respect for the occasion and its customs ) and I found relatives of the deceased overcome by their grief and openly crying.

Those that were not immediately related to the deceased exhibited varying degrees of loss. The on-lookers
that you refer might be those that are specifically employed to perform the various chores related to the
ceremony or friends of somebody attending a finished or yet to start ceremony.

Witnessing the ceremony was indeed a moving experience for me.


The onlookers seem so matter-of-fact. Quite an enlightening image for those of us in the West who are not familiar with customs in Nepal.
 

Rachel Foster

New member
Ah, yes I imagine it would be so (moving). I was looking at the faces I can see and read a certain...acceptance of the life cycle in them. Obviously, my Western acculturation heavily influences how I see the image.
 

Ken Tanaka

pro member
A very interesting image, Fahim. Open cremation can be tough on contemporary Western eyes but it has been a very normal part of many cultures for many centuries.

What your lens skillfully and deliberately captured, and what I find most bothersome, is the apparent garbage in the water in front of the pyre platform in the foreground.
 
Hello Fahim
Once again a very worthy image.
I am however uncomfortable with it being here in the Street photography forum.
Although quiet innocent looking by itself, your description of what is actually happening makes this very disturbing indeed.
I think it will find a better home within the Provocative Thoughts and Images forum.
That way people looking at the image will be informed that it could be disturbing and enter the post fully aware of that fact.

I disagee. It's interesting that some think of this as disturbing, while in Hindu culture it is more a part of the cycle of life, and the ceremony takes place 'in the street' (apparently it's well organized, and a platform is built for that purpose).

I also notice there are no women present, at least not visible in this image. Anyone know why?

I think images like this most certainly belong in the Street/Documentary forum, perhaps more so than most snapshots of innocent passers by ...

Bart

P.S. I did like your "Oblivious" post, it's much better than many posts here, IMHO of course.
 
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Ivan Garcia

New member
I disagee. It's interesting that some think of this as disturbing, while in Hindu culture it is more a part of the cycle of life, and the ceremony takes place 'in the street' (apparently it's well organized, and a platform is built for that purpose).

I also notice there are no women present, at least not visible in this image. Anyone know why?

I think images like this most certainly belong in the Street/Documentary forum, perhaps more so than most snapshots of innocent passers by ...

Bart

P.S. I did like your "Oblivious" post, it's much better than many posts here, IMHO of course.


Hello Bart.
But that is precisely why it belongs in the provocative thoughts and images forum.
We all come from very diverse cultural backgrounds; what is mundane in some parts of the world, is disturbing to someone else.
For that we must accommodate, and when sensitive issues such as burial rituals arise, a more delicate approach is needed; that's why we have the uptown section in this forum.

Ps: thank you for prasing my work
 
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