ETRNAL
ETERNAL is the first part of a long-term project devoted to the subject of mortem and post-mortem. Presented photographs were created during the artist’s many months of stay in northern India.
The portraits depict men called Chaudhary in Varanasi - the Untouchables, who come from the lowest caste in India and for centuries were responsible for burning dead bodies in this holy city. This extremely difficult task was assigned to them as one of the many unprivileged works to perform in Hindu society. In theory, the constitution of the Republic of India from 1950 abolished caste dependencies, in accordance with the idea of Mahatma Ghandi, who fought against all forms of social discrimination. In his mind, the Untouchables, called by Ghandi “Children of God”, gained numerous rights (including access to education and public positions) and were officially included in the social system. Despite this, till this day in Varanasi Untouchables are burdened with cadmium stigma. Chaudhary guard the symbolic Eternal Fire on the Manikarnik Ghat’s hearth, where hundreds of bodies burn uninterrupted day and night.
Arm in arm sons with fathers, cousins with uncles, young and old work at burning bodies. Cremations, made here by the Untouchables, ensure that the process of reincarnation called sansara is closed and state of nirvana is being reached.
The water of the Ganges River flowing at the foot of the Ghat is inseparably connected with those rituals, which plays a vital role in the life and death of the entire Indian society, and has a peculiar meaning in the lives of the photographed characters. Unavoidable.
The portraits depict men called Chaudhary in Varanasi - the Untouchables, who come from the lowest caste in India and for centuries were responsible for burning dead bodies in this holy city. This extremely difficult task was assigned to them as one of the many unprivileged works to perform in Hindu society. In theory, the constitution of the Republic of India from 1950 abolished caste dependencies, in accordance with the idea of Mahatma Ghandi, who fought against all forms of social discrimination. In his mind, the Untouchables, called by Ghandi “Children of God”, gained numerous rights (including access to education and public positions) and were officially included in the social system. Despite this, till this day in Varanasi Untouchables are burdened with cadmium stigma. Chaudhary guard the symbolic Eternal Fire on the Manikarnik Ghat’s hearth, where hundreds of bodies burn uninterrupted day and night.
Arm in arm sons with fathers, cousins with uncles, young and old work at burning bodies. Cremations, made here by the Untouchables, ensure that the process of reincarnation called sansara is closed and state of nirvana is being reached.
The water of the Ganges River flowing at the foot of the Ghat is inseparably connected with those rituals, which plays a vital role in the life and death of the entire Indian society, and has a peculiar meaning in the lives of the photographed characters. Unavoidable.