Shakru suddenly pointed to a barren area on the other side and asked, "Miss Zeta, why aren't there any houses on the other side of the river?" ”

"I once asked someone at the tourist office this question, and it was said that because it was more effective to worship the rising sun when bathing, the bathing grounds and houses were built to the east, and as a result, the whole town could only develop in one direction, so there was a completely different scenery on both sides of the river. ”

Shakru pointed to the beggars on the shore who were suffering from leprosy and were mutilated, and asked, "It is said that the water of the Ganges has the function of curing leprosy and skin diseases, is this really the case?" And what happened to the old people lying on the riverbank? ”

Pu Liyuan thought for a moment, and then said with a wry smile: "According to the investigation, the water quality here is weakly acidic and may contain sulfur components, so it is a bit of a basis for the curative effect, but it was also the Ganges River before, and now it is estimated that it is enough to choke."

As for the old people, they came to wait for death, firstly because they did not have money to live in a hotel, and secondly, according to the custom here, as long as they died on the banks of the Ganges, they could be cremated for free and their ashes scattered into the Ganges. And if they die halfway through the road after leaving, they will have no connection with the Ganges, so they will not leave here anyway, and they will eat and live on the shore every day, just waiting for death to come! ”

Shakru said in his heart, in addition to eating and lodging, you also talk less about excretion, no wonder the entire riverbank is stinking, so many ants are waiting for people to die by the river, how much excrement must be there every day. So he stopped asking, but began to observe the people who were bathing and praying in the morning.

At this moment, the sky is not yet bright, the temperature is still low, and countless black people are all soaked in the river, and it can be seen that some people are shivering from the cold. Men are shirtless, wear only a pair of shorts, are of all ages, mainly elderly, extremely fat or very thin, and rarely in an intermediate state. The women were all dressed in saris, only middle-aged and elderly, and they got into the water with their gray hair, their gray hair entangled with their scarves, and they drank two sips and came out again. Not a single one smiled, no one was talking, and everyone was soaking and drinking without saying a word.

Some people dip their bodies in the Ganges, respectfully pluck up the water, and then pour the water over their heads. In others, the entire body is submerged except for the head; Some people rinse their mouths and wash their ears with river water, but everyone prays reverently to the rising sun.

There are also a few middle-aged men and women rubbing their teeth on the steps to brush their teeth, no one uses a toothbrush, half with fingers, half with branches, after brushing the water, swallow the water, and then hold a few handfuls and drink, which is exactly the opposite direction of people in other countries when brushing their teeth. Then a policeman came, and he flicked an old man lying on the bank of the river, who was apparently dead, died on the bank of the Ganges last night or this morning. No one paid attention to this scene, and everyone was used to it.

The dead will be dragged a short distance away and cremated by the government's crematorium. But ordinary people will never enter this crematorium, as long as they have a little money, they must go to the crematorium by the river. The cremation pit has become part of the riverbed, clinging to the river's surface, and a boatload of firewood is moored at the water's edge, and a body wrapped in colorful cloth is lined up on the side of the boat.

The burning never stopped, the stench was so foul that the workers poured spoonfuls of spiced grease on them, making the smell even more suffocating. Not only is all this visible to all, but it has become the most important sight on the banks of the Ganges. There was a large area of humble houses around several cremation pits, all blackened by the smoke and fire that had been incessant for many years. About ten meters away from the smoke of the fire, there was half a dead cow floating, and the cavity was outside, and wild dogs were gnawing at it. A few steps further, a row of men was brushing their teeth and swallowing water, mouthful after mouthful.

Seeing this, Shakru couldn't help it, and threw up on the edge of the boat, as if he wanted to churn everything out of his stomach.

Zeta patted him on the back and said softly: "Boss, it's okay, it's the same when I first came, in fact, I got used to it after coming more times." ”

Although Shakru didn't say anything, but his heart felt extremely sad, once he thought that since he had crossed into this body, then he tried to integrate into the life here, but until this moment, he was sure that he would never be able to think of himself as an Indian, this was not a contempt for a nation, but he did not want to hide his attitude towards the landscape in front of him, because the sorrow here concerns all mankind.

As a human being, we should know some of the most basic do's and don'ts. It's hard to find a dead elephant in the world, because even the elephant herd knows how to cover it. Once again, I would like to thank our pre-Qin sons for teaching Chinese to know so many "don'ts" early on: don't see, don't listen, don't move, and don't do to others what you don't want......

Sometimes it seems to be a little stricter, but there is no prohibition, how can there be civilization? Without fencing, how can there be a society? If there is no covering, how can there be shame? If there are no rules, how can there be a circle?

On the banks of the Ganges, what I saw was that the filthiness of man, the ugliness of man, and the death of man could all be exaggerated and naked, and they could all be released to others and nature without restraint. As a result of India's population explosion, this behavior is turning into an unprecedented aggregation, with huge crowds coming to the river day and night.

To say that you want to rely on the Ganges from beginning to end of your life is actually to spoil the Ganges for the rest of your life. Shakru couldn't help but think resentfully, in the early years, when the Ganges River was paid off and could still shine on people's faces, people would at least know a little bit of shame, and now in the eyes of the Ganges, this group of people who are polluted in tattered clothes every morning, crowded by the river for a long time and waiting for death, and after they die, they will throw the residues of their lives in the river to float and show off, what is it?

One might explain how clean a people is washed by the river every day, how poetic is the image of men and women bathing together in the morning mist, and how an ancient habit of civilization needs to be respected. But everything in front of him made Shakru feel that all explanations were so pale and powerless. In the future, even if there are a thousand reasons to let yourself say a few words about the beauty of the morning bath in the Ganges, your answer will be: the eyes do not agree, the conscience does not agree. Because what we saw there was not a backward custom, but a human tragedy, so we couldn't help but fight and be heavy.

The foul smoke and dust all melted into the morning mist, and above the other side of the Ganges, a faint red light held up a round of rising sun, without dazzling light, just rising quietly. I looked at the rising sun and thought, how much patience does it have for humans?

PS: Part of the content of this chapter comes from Mr. Yu Qiuyu's "A Thousand Years of Sighs", hereby declare, in addition, if you are interested in India, you can take a look at the Indian chapter of this book, which is very real and heavy.