Below is a small sample of my writing which brings with it an academic with a life in 9 countries and cultures and uique ideas from all.
Another area of the city was called Pushu Patinath. It was the area where cremations took place as that was the main way of taking care of that need. Driving to Pushu Patti, as we called it, was an experience in itself. You need to know that the Hindus and Animists and Bhuddists coexist in peace here and even share the same shrines. They have different schedules for services often in the same place. The road to Pushu Patti is lined with hundreds, maybe thousands of shrines as small as just one carved stone to huge cemetery headstones over a man's height. It was not clear, but the following paragraph may make it ovious that some of these shrines must have been also grave headstones.
The Baghmati river flowed through the area and the stone pyres where the bodies were laid were next to the river. Cities there are all using limited amounts of wood because the mountain sides are seriously deforested. Unfortunately, limited amounts of wood were available for the cremation. After a token effort of cremation was done, the remaining parts were just swept off into the river. People bathing and drinking downstream, and they certainly did do this, occassionally would see an extremity float by on the current. Water in streams throughout the country, even at extreme altitudes, is seriously infected. Bottled water is an ablsolute requirement. Trekkers take iodine and put it in their drinking flasks 20 minutes before drinking. Great numbers of health measures must be followed to, without serious illness, experience the beautiful vistas of mountain peaks with snow all year.