I saw those pics awhile back..ugh that is soo nasty they are in there takeing baths cooking on the steps eating right by that mess and brushing there teeth! tons of dead people floating around this makes my skin crawl but thats what they do over there and have done it for hundreds of years

Jesus,thats messed up,it reminds me of a place called Sunderland in England!

and some americans think they have it bad , lol

i read some of the article. it talks about how they have too much cow #. cow # is actually not that bad compared to, let's say... pig # or many other kinds of #. cow # actually smells a lot like grass. this looks really gross but india has really got a lot people and it's dry. I don't think this should be judgmental in any way.

I like indian people but don't get too many opportunities to talk about many things with one who has lived there and came over here. I wonder if them people trip balls over there with all that cow #. you know that's how mushrooms grow.

Originally posted by matrix12
and some americans think they have it bad , lol

Indeed. Well some Americans are living in the sewers on the west coast... but still, in the sewers of a US city is better than living by the Gange River.

But I bet you could take this kind of pics in China too, and in a lot of countries in Africa...

But India is worshiping cow's dung... I mean... come on now. Nothing against that belief... it's just that it's hard to be clean when you worship cows...

They should open a few Steak Houses, that could lighten the mood.

I mean if they want to live like that... go for it... freedom baby!

No offence but India is such a poor country alot of it citizens are poor and homeless and very few are rich and is a alot worse off then many people are. It really sad that some of its places are filthy and dirty. It is also very crowded with a billion people crammed into India.I certainly would'nt live there in the state it is currently in and i'am sure many people would'nt. they really need to do something about this place, but little will change in the years to come.

remember, this is only a small part of India.

Don't think that the whole country is like that.

It is easy to cringe and gasp when looking at this lifestyle. On the other hand I am constantly reminded when travelling to third world countries and places like this that the modern world has lost the ability to exist without the "Comforts" that we take advantage of and take for granted everyday. Yes its disgusting to see someone bathing and brushing their teeth in the same body of water as the floating corpse, but if our way of life as we know it goes south due to a natural disaster, collapsing economy, or other threat, this is the way of life we will be forced to adapt to as we won't have all the "extras" that we have. I am reluctant to assume we will all be able to adapt and survive in such a case. I for one will have a hard time wiping my ass with my left finger, burning feces, washing clothing next to rotting corpses and finding water to drink and brush with, all the while providing for my family.

The Indians have shown us here that they have adapted and in a sense evolved in a way the west may not view as evolving, but I think biologically they are able to withstand the microbial infestations of their environment. Take a westerner and place them in such an environment and they will be sick within a week. I have seen it hundreds of times over and experienced personally the effects of such an environment.

Good find!

The worst trip I ever took was to India. I went with my aunt and uncle who were photographers and stayed there for three weeks. I've been to a LOT of jarring places in my life, but India is the one place that I will never visit again. The first thing I have to tell you about is the stench. The overpowering smell of body odor, feces, and decomposition permeates every pore on your body. It's ALL you can smell. Even bottled water carries the taste of it all because it's all around you.

The second thing is that you better respect the cow poop.

Finally, the man who showed us around told us that they put their dead into the water and bathe in and drink that water because it helps keep those who are lost with you. It's the ultimate show of respect to still "honor" someone in death the way you would in life. In life ... you bathe, drink, and visit with the living. In death ... you do the same. They usually pull the bodies out into the distance and it's considered a sign of luck and/or blessings when the body floats back. The fact that animals make meals off the dead is also supposedly a good thing. It's the circle of life for them. The dead give the gift of living by providing food and nourishing the water with their life's essence.

That's what was told to us. I don't know if that's all true or if it's something they tell foreigners to blow our minds, but I saw plenty of dead people in water. They also put their cows in water when they die, too.

I don't regret going to India and seeing the things that I did because it made me appreciate and value what I have here in the States, but I mean it when I say I will never go back there.

People the world over are different, with different cultures and standards to those that non indigineous people may have.

I for one cannot understand the cultures and ways of life in, for instance, America or China as I am not from these places.

Admittedly, it does seem a little 'out there' to be bathing near corpses and defecating in the street, but without being a part of these cultures it is impossible to accurately judge the whys and wherefores of how other people live.

Long winded way of saying each to their own I guess.

This is a bad case of religious belief
over ruling basic common sense.


Cholera >>> A water born disease

The disease is most often spread through the ingestion of contaminated food or drinking water. Water may be contaminated by the feces of an infected person or by untreated sewage. Food is often contaminated by water containing cholera bacteria or because it was handled by a person ill with cholera.

that's just for starters ....

I didn't get through all the pictures because it literally made me nauseous this morning.

I was bombarded by the questions of my own brain, such as is there no value to human life? Does it not hurt them emotionally to see people like this? And don't they dread having their own body treated with such disrespect? I would die instantly in all that mess. No way my immune system could fight off all that bacteria.
Isn't some of it airborne?

I thought they were mostly Buddhists. Sacred cows, etc. Given that, the body has little value, awaiting the next incarnation. But the toileting, for example, appears to be of Muslim persuasion.

And the other thought is: Should we send a bunch of "No littering" signs over, and have them posted?

Originally posted by ypperst
remember, this is only a small part of India.

Don't think that the whole country is like that.

Well then, don't the cities that are more affluent and educated have some responsibility towards educating those that don't?

I can't imagine a state in the U.S./Canada, or the U.K. living like this, without being descended on by federal dollars, and other missionaries, educators, and garden variety of do-gooders.

These are their own people, and they have a responsibility to help them out of this filth.

I'm extremely confused as to how the concept of "bathing in and drinking out of a river filled with rotting corpses and excrement is bad for you" has not found its way to that area of the country just yet
Do these guys have no gag reflex?