The Funeral of the Former Deputy Prime Minister

Shailaja Acharya, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal


Yesterday I visited Pashupati, the Nepalese equivalent of India's Varanasi. There are burning ghats where Nepali Hindus come to be burned after they die. I happened to arrive in Pashupati several hours before Shailaja Acharya, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal was to be given her last rites so I got to witness first hand the funeral of high ranking Nepalese official. Hours before, I took my place on a bridge, 10 feet above the pyre where Ms. Acharya was to be burned. I stood with my camera and all of my lenses next to a photojournalist from a local Nepali newspaper. The funeral was attended by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Army Chief and other Nepali dignitaries. Although all of the people were ultimately cleared from the bridge (for security reasons) by men with machine guns, I was apparently confused as a member of the foreign press and was allowed to stay alongside the Nepali photographers. Here is the article that appeared in The Himalayan.

Sadhu in Pashupati


Old Man in Pashupati