Word: varanasi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Varanasi, ministering to the dead is a way of life. Situated on the banks of the holy Ganges River, the ancient city is not only a place of pilgrimage but an auspicious place to die. The elderly and the sick arrive from across India to pass their final days praying at the river, in ashrams or on the street, knowing that dying on the banks of the Ganges will speed them through the cycle of rebirths to moksha, or liberation of the soul. Those who don't die in Varanasi desire to be cremated there, or have their ashes scattered...
...film has placed Das amid a national tempest. In late January, one day before shooting was to begin in the holy city of Varanasi, a group of Hindus stormed the set and burned part of it down. City officials ordered a production halt. Shooting won't resume until fall. Frustrated by the disruption to her work, Das is even more worried about how the uproar has distorted the image of her country. "What is interesting and fascinating about this country is that everything coexists," she says. "You have the extreme fanatics, but there are also very progressive and very open...