SITE INTRODUCTION
Map - Manikarnika Ghat at the edge of the Ganga
MANIKARNIKA GHAT, VARANASI:
A LANDSCAPE OF DEATH
Yini Chen, Amita Sinha
Manikarnika Ghat, popularly thrown as burning
ghat, is the great cremation ground in Varanasi
where all who die are promised moksha (sal-
vation). It is the oldest ghat on the Ganga built
in the beginning of the thirteenth century and
where the cremation fire has never died out.
Shiva, the conqueror of death, is eternally pres-
ent here as is Vishnu, the creator and sustainer
of life. Thus, death and life follow each other
as symbolized by cosmic creation (shrasti) and
destruction (pralaya). Built to adapt changing
water levels in the Ganga as she rises and falls,
the ghat has been continuously remolded by sa-
cred rituals and mundane, everyday practices.
The landscape of Manikarnika Ghat is a sys-
tem of energy flows in culture and ecology.
The disturbances caused by social practices
have caused water and air pollution. The ghat
as a site of purification of ritual contamination
of death is itself polluted from the waste gen-
erated by cremation practices. Although Man-
ikarnika Ghat is sacred, it is unhygienic thus
creating a paradox in the meaning of the sacred.
Our project addresses this paradox and aims
to reduce the dissonance between ritual and
physical purity. The abundant waste is used
as a resource for producing clean energy for
cremations. Atmospheric and ground pollution
are addressed in specific design interventions.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
Ganga River water
Manikarnika Ghat cremation fire
Fire and water are sources of rich iconography
in Hindu mythology, associated with life giving
powers as well as destruction in cosmic con-
flagration at the end of time. Fire signifies the
germination of life and burns away the impuri-
ties. At Manikarnika Ghat shared by Vishnu and
Shiva, the individual cremation is a sacrificial
fire, leading to rebirth, and mimetic of cosmog-
ony occurring through sacrifice. Manikarnika
Ghat is outside of time, signifying the perpet-
ual cycle of destruction followed by creation, in
death
life
which fire is the chief agent. Flowing rivers are
very significant in the Hindu schema of purity
and pollution, especially the River Ganga who
nourishes millions and is so pure that everything
and everyone who comes into contact with her
waters is sanctified and cleansed. The belief in
the Ganga as the remover of the greatest of all
pollutants--death—has led to her banks being
cremation sites. The boundaries between puri-
ty and pollution, sacred and profane, waste and
utility, are blurred at Manikarnika Ghat.
SITE CONTEXT
Current Cremation Practice
Existing Cremation Practice
carrying the dead body to Manikarnika Ghat
waiting in historic buildings and decorating the body
cremation
final ritual bathing
cremation瀀爀愀挀琀椀挀攀
䌀爀攀洀愀琀椀漀渀 practice route
爀漀甀琀攀
dipping the body with sacred Ganga River, ready to be burnt
great sadness deep serene
Manikarnika Ghat is the landscape of death rep- ashes are gathered from the funeral pyre and
resenting a silent dialogue between the depart- immersed into the Ganga. In the ritual process
ed and the alive. The dead are carried on the of cremation, the body returns to the five panch-
shoulders of mourners through a narrow alley to bhutas, essential elements--fire, water, earth,
the ghat. The body is anointed and dipped in the wind, and sky--of which the material world is
Ganga for the last cleaning in the holy waters. constituted. Manikarnika Ghats symbolizes and
The cremation ritual commences—the body performs as the heart of the riverfront.
is lit with fire after the ritual circumambulation.
Midway through the burning, the skull is broken
with a wooden pole in the ritual, kapalkriya for
the soul to escape. As the fires die down, the
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SITE CONDITIONS
Skyline

As the center of the three-mile-long sweep of

the ghat stretch, Manikarnika Ghat is instantly
recognizable by its smoking fires, soot-cov-
ered buildings, and stacks of wood piled on
boats and landings. The design language of
the ghat consists of prototypical forms—bas-
tions, balconies, aedicules, portals, pavilions
and platforms—in different sizes and mate-
rials, and in many combinations. The proto-
typical architectural elements are repeated
erratically, setting up a syncopated rhythm
and unifying the complex visual structure.
A photo by Bourne, c.1880’s Source: ebay, Mar.
Changing Water Levels

Dry season/Normal 184.4ft Danger 222.4ft 100-year flood(2013 monsoon) 240.2ft

Stairs set up an interesting rhythm especially
when they cascade down the streets and from
buildings located at higher levels. In the dry
season, cremation occurs on the silt bed while
during monsoons the ghat is covered with
water, and cremation site is shifted to higher
ground. In the 100-year flood, the Ganga ris-
es over the temples and shrines at lower level.

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SITE CONDITIONS SITE DESIGN
Water Pollution Clean Energy, Clean Water

underground drainage
surface drainage
surface water/drain pipes
ditch
silt
organic waste

Man
ikarn
Cremation ika G
hat
Center

Ganga River

Existing Organic Waste New Energy & water system

The cremation of 32,000 corpses on the ghats
leaves every year results in immersion of ashes on a
large scale in the Ganga. Thus, the shoreline is
dotted with ash mounds. Cows and other ani-
cow dung mals wander everywhere and the ghat is littered
with their dung. Liquid waste from the streets
bamboo flows in the river since the underground drain-
age system is inadequate. The organic materi-
al, including cremation ashes and household
flowers waste from the old city contributes substantially
to the Ganga’s pollution as evidenced in 500%
increase in BOD (biological oxygen demand) in
wood chips
the river after leaving Varanasi.
Indian Banyan Ficus benghalensis Tree of Shiva
Peepal Tree Ficus Religiosa Tree of Budda
Neem Azadirachta indica Ayurveda, Gudi Padva
squash varieties
Indian Lotus Nelumbo nucifera Sacred to Hindus and Buddhists
overflow/organic waste directed into digestion tanks
biogas supply for religious rituals
primary filtration treatment
secondary filtration treatment
clean inlet/discharge
The organic waste produced at Manikarnika Ghat
is proposed to be treated to produce biogas, a
clean energy source for supporting cremation.
The burning stoves fueled by biogas will be in-
stalled under the cremation platforms. Only few
logs will be needed for burning as a symbolic
gesture. Filtration beds on the shoreline will
treat sullage carried by surface drains. They can
be planted with grasses, pumpkins, and squash.
Trees, especially neem, will purify the air and
provide the much-needed shade from the hot
sun.

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SITE CONDITIONS SITE DESIGN
nonflammable translucent
exhaust filtration screen
Air Pollution Clean Air dust intake filtration screen

low air pressure “dust room”

wind “hose pipe”

exhaust fan

clean air
to Ganga
minimal symbolic wood
wire-meshed top

biogas stove
site prevailing winds
blow east-west
ash tray for
family collection

biogas

fermenter gas motor+

(biogas production) electricity generator
Filtration Screen Leftover Ash Collector
nonflammable translucent material brick receptacle base
cow dung crops wastewater food waste

The dominant wind direction on the ghats is

Cleaning Service
operable door on the screen Family Ash Collector Cremation Platform View
from west to east, which scatters the ashes,
built-in drawer inside the biogas, plus only a ilttle bit Ganga River dust, and smoke produced by cremation, nega-
cremation platform of firewood
Ghats for Sitting tively impacting the air quality. The surrounding
stone tread sourced locally
buildings are covered by soot and their original
facades are no longer visible. The ambient air
temperature in the vicinity of cremation sites
reaches as high as 60 degrees Celsius under
the scorching June sun.

Lotus is a powerful symbol in Indic iconogra-

phy. Filtration screens in the shape of lotuses
are proposed to provide privacy for the crema-
tion ritual. Suspended particulate matter will be
deposited in screens and cleaned periodically.
The visual connection with the river will not
be lost since they are made of non-flammable
translucent material.
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SITE DESIGN
Reclaimed Manikarnika Ghat - Plan

reception room
existing temple
cremation processional gate
existing hospice
log weighing and retailing
log storage chambers
hospice plaza

existing guest house

vernacular sitting chowkis

existing Vishnu’s Footprint Temple

Vishnu’s footprints LED ground light
existing Manikarnika Kund
artifacts workshop+vending units

shading canvas zone

tea stalls and resaurants
elevated viewing platform
riparian buffer zone
vitalize
Processional
sacred religious ritual routes

nurture
Places
mundane spatial practices

barber’s plaza
floating deck/log arriving cremation dipping tank existing landings, platforms
ramp for log carts ash/smoke filtration screen pilgrim bathing tank
individual cremation platform squash community garden
supplied by biogas
Ganga River

The proposed design interventions organize movement
patterns, reduce congestion, and create more public
spaces for the bereaved and other visitors. The de-
ceased are cremated on individual burning platforms
rather than in haphazard crowded locations. A new dock
for loading and unloading logs organizes log delivery
on boats. Several plazas with traditional seats and can-
vas shading or trees are proposed for mourners. Tea
stalls, tuck shops, and wayside food stalls are organized
at different locations, adding vitality to the public spac-
es. These interventions reclaim Manikarnika Ghat as a
resilient cultural landscape where the last journey of the
dead is given dignity on a processional route, mourners
are offered privacy, waste is converted into a resource,
and air and water pollution are mitigated.
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