Caste in the business of death

Radhika Iyengar's book provides a poignant account of the overlooked 'death-care workers' in Benares, an ancient community relegated to the margins of society

Fire on the Ganges: Life Among the Dead in Banaras

Author: Radhika Iyengar

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 352

Price: Rs 599

Banaras stands at the crossroads of life and death. The quaint city of salvation and redemptive waters — where faith and literature, textiles and tourism co-exist — has stood the test of time. Radhika Iyengar, in her debut book Fire on the Ganges resurrects the ancient city of light as seen through the eyes of the sidelined Dalit community of Doms — the corpse-burners or “death-care workers” as old as the city.

At Chand Ghat, where the book is anchored, an invisible line