Scarf, comb show changes to Hindu cremation rites
A comb. A toothbrush. A bangle. A cotton scarf — protection from the summer heat now used as a face mask.
The personal belongings of cremated COVID-19 victims lie strewn around the grounds of the Ulubari cremation ground in Gauhati, the biggest city in India’s remote northeast.
It's a fundamental change from the rites and traditions that surround death in the Hindu religion. And, perhaps, also reflects the grim fears grieving people — shaken by the deaths of their loved ones — have of the coronavirus in India, where more than 405,000 people have died.
Hindus believe cremation of the body frees the soul so it can be reborn, and they often burn belongings that were with the body at the time of the death.
The belongings of the COVID-19 victims are left behind because of fear of touching them. They are scattered around the entire grounds of the Ulubari crematorium, particularly where the pyres are lit.
A relative performs last rites before the cremation of a COVID-19 victim in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An empty wrapper of medicine used by a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A face mask and an unused toothbrush of a deceased COVID-19 victim lie in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A used sandal of a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Used toothpaste of a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Relatives perform last rites before the cremation of a COVID-19 victim in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A nine year old boy, center with his mother, left, in personal protective equipment performs rituals during the cremation of his father who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A relative performs final rituals before the cremation of a COVID-19 victim in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Clothes of a deceased COVID-19 victim lie in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
India’s devastating virus surge in April and May left families and patients pleading for oxygen outside hospitals, the relatives weeping in the street as their loved ones died while waiting for treatment. Crematoriums were overwhelmed and often lit around the clock.
Infections are declining, but authorities are pushing to increase vaccinations as they prepare for another possible surge.
A pair of protective goggles of a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Relatives perform final rituals before the cremation of a COVID-19 victim in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An oxygen mask of a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A bangle of a deceased COVID-19 victim lies in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A woman breaks down as she prays before the cremation of a relative who died of COVID-19 in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A shaving brush and gloves of deceased COVID-19 victims and their relatives lie in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Banana leaves used during the last rituals of a deceased COVID-19 victim lie in a cremation ground in Gauhati, India, Friday, July 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Text from AP News story, AP PHOTOS: Scarf, comb show changes to Hindu cremation rites, by Anupam Nath