Figure 6 The journey of cremation in Manikarnika Ghat

7. Breaking the skull with the stick.

8. Throwing the pot filled with the holy water on the ashes.

9. Floating the ashes away in Ganga. When the body was almost summoned to the fire, the local priest smashed the dead man’s skull with a stick. According to myth, the soul is in the mind and needs to be released from the physical body. And, so that the human skull is not abused. Facing the river, standing at the feet of the corpse, the eldest son throws the pot filled with Ganga water over his shoulder. It shatters and breaks on the last of the burning pyre and the family walks away without looking back signifying that they are done with their relationship to the body. The last of the ritual says that the ashes need to be collected by the eldest son in an urn after all the rituals are done and then need to be floated in the holy river of Ganga for further peace to the soul. (Arora 2014) N/A

Figure 6 The journey of cremation in Manikarnika Ghat (Source:

https://issuu.com/amitasinha/docs/varanasi_ghats_2016)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the symbolic role/meaning of spaces of cremation in the Indian urban context? 2. How do planned and unplanned spaces operate in the urban context like Delhi NCR? 3. What are the norms and regulations followed while designing crematoriums in urban context? 4. Is there a need of reinterpretation of these spaces? 5. Why has there been a crisis of cremation spaces in Delhi NCR in Covid19?

STUDY METHODOLOGY

Final death rituals are based on sociological, cultural, anthropological and spiritual standpoints. The entire research paper has been divided into eight divisions, catering the different research questions that have been raised.

The research paper aims at looking at the need to not only improve the image of the crematoriums, but also provide it with a respectful platform in the eyes of the people and bring about a paradigm shift as well as evolving the idea of a secular designed space in case of Delhi NCR.