Innocent face of funerals

Childlike innocence meets the grisly face of death at India's largest cremation ground. At a screening of 2008 documentary Children of the Pyre, meet seven kids who keep Varanasi's pyres burning

Childlike innocence meets the grisly face of death at India's largest cremation ground. At a screening of 2008 documentary Children of the Pyre, meet seven kids who keep Varanasi's pyres burning

One might think children are too young to deal with death and the ugly face of mortality, but in Varanasi's Manikarnika, the biggest cremation ground in India, scores of children face it everyday.

Rajesh S Jala's path breaking documentary Children of The Pyre made in 2008 follows seven such children.

A still from the movie Children Of The Pyre

Born in to the 'untouchable' Dom community, these children keep the pyre burning, fetch body parts that go astray, recover funeral shrouds and keep the pyres swept out so that more bodies can be moved in.

Shot over 18 months the 74-minute documentary shows the horrible conditions they work and live in, bringing to life the children's own version of hell on earth.

Narrated in an observational, non-interventionist style, it interacts with the children in and follows them as they take refuge in marijuana.
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Children of the Pyre has won the Best Documentary at various festivals including Montreal, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, USA and Sao Paulo, besides winning a special jury award at the national film awards of India.
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"Vikalp screens documentaries by Indian and International filmmakers on the last Monday of every month.

We chose to screen Children of the Pyre because it was such a powerful and memorable film," says Anand Patwardhan of Vikalp, who our screening the film. The film

On: Today, 7pm onwards
At: Prithvi House, Opposite Prithvi Theatre,
Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle.
Call: 26149546