"Descending from this elevation to the banks of the river I witnessed the ceremony of the burning of two dead bodies. Five or six savage-looking men were heaping wood on to the blazing piles, but I could discern through the flames the roasting skull and feet of one of the bodfies. One of them was that of a women, whose husband stood by evidently regarding the horrid spectacle with the highest satisfaction." Samuel Bourne 1863, in 'The British Journal of Photography'
One of the major cremation sites on the Ganges, the Burning Ghat was the subject of several studies by Bourne. (John Hannavy, 2008)
This photograph was included in the book by John Hannavy "Great Photographic Journeys - in the footsteps of Pioneer British Photographers" (Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2008 - # ISBN-10: 1904587542, # ISBN-13: 978-1904587545)
