Wednesday Edition

The City Where Death is a Homecoming

In the labyrinthine heart of Varanasi, the ancient city also known as Kashi, there is a place where the line between life and death dissolves into smoke and prayer. This is Manikarnika Ghat, a flight of stone steps descending to the sacred river Ganga. It is not a place of quiet sorrow but a theatre of profound spiritual transition, a sanctuary where the final act of life is not a tragedy but a celebrated homecoming. Known as the Mahashamshan, or the great cremation ground, Manikarnika is a powerful symbol of the eternal cycle of existence, a place where funeral pyres have burned without cease for centuries, their flames a constant, unblinking presence against the backdrop of the holy river.

The Enduring Spirit of Thai Art

To step into the grounds of Bangkok’s Grand Palace is to be immersed in a world of breathtaking detail and spiritual grandeur. Gilded spires pierce the sky, multi-tiered roofs curve with serpentine grace, and walls shimmer with intricate mosaics, each tiny piece telling part of a larger story. This sensory richness is the essence of Thai art, a vibrant cultural chronicle that has been shaped over centuries by a powerful confluence of spirituality, regional politics, and global trade. The story of art in Thailand is not one of isolation, but of dynamic absorption and brilliant reinterpretation, creating a visual language that is at once deeply local and universally resonant.

The Heartbeat of Hindu Nepal

To arrive at Pashupatinath is to step into a sensory confluence where the sacred and the profane, the eternal and the ephemeral, coexist in breathtaking proximity. The air itself is a complex tapestry of scents: the sweet, heavy perfume of marigold garlands and ghee-soaked wicks from a thousand oil lamps mingles with the sharp, spiritual aroma of burning incense. Underlying it all is the faint, unmistakable scent of woodsmoke drifting from the banks of the Bagmati River. The soundscape is just as layered. The air hums with the constant, gentle ringing of bells, the deep-throated chanting of Vedic hymns, the murmur of countless private prayers, and the boisterous chatter of the resident rhesus macaques who claim the temple grounds as their own.