A Gory Truth: A day in the life of an Aghori

   A sage-like man with a long mane sits on the stairs of the ghat next to Ganges and awaits a funeral; the funeral is not of a relative, acquaintance or friend. The family of the deceased is unaware that before the dead body gets to decay and dissolve in the so-called holy waters, a bunch of people would binge on the remains of flesh and blood.

  Aghori is a mere word that sends a chill down the spine of many people aware of the carnivorous disposition behind a sage-like demeanour. As an Aghori, clad in saffron robes, feeds on decaying flesh, he claims to ward off the 7 sins from his mind, body and soul. An Aghori might even have a single piece of flesh in his lifetime; it all depends on when is he able to part with the immoral side of him.

The partially burnt flesh is searched for in the Ganges as soon as the funeral comes to an end and a somber kin walks back home. It is then cooked wholly in fire on the ghat itself, before being picked up by the Aghoris one by one, not from hands but from the mouth.

   The Head of this bizarre tribe ironically clad in a kurta-pyjama, states plainly that the flesh of a dead body does not taste good but has its own set of benefits. As per the Head, an Aghori himself, decaying flesh does not constitute the daily diet of Aghoris.