As death toll rises, Nepalis turn to prayer and hope after devastating floods
A body is cremated at the Pashupatinath Temple cremation site in Kathmandu, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Byung-jin
KATHMANDU — White smoke billowed over the banks of the Bagmati River running through the Nepalese capital.
A Hindu funeral ritual was underway, in which the deceased were washed in the sacred river before being cremated and their ashes returned to the water. As victims of the devastating floods continued to arrive, the smoke had grown noticeably thicker over the past several days.
On Tuesday, a week after the devastating floods, the Hankook Ilbo visited the Pashupatinath Temple on the eastern outskirts of Kathmandu. The site was shrouded in smoke, with bodies being cremated at 11 of the temple’s 12 cremation platforms.
Soon, another body, covered in orange cloth, arrived on a stretcher. Family members removed the deceased’s clothes and carefully washed the body in the river. Firewood crackled and flames rose into the air.
It was a final farewell.
Pashupatinath Temple, one of the world’s most renowned Hindu pilgrimage sites, is dedicated to Shiva, the god associated with destruction and regeneration. An Indian man who had lost family members in the floods struggled to hold back his tears.
“I keep thinking that perhaps this tragedy happened to my family because I should have come here to pray sooner,” he said.
People line up to pray to the Hindu god Ganesha at a Ganesha temple in Kathmandu, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Byung-jin
Tuesday is traditionally a day in Hindu practice to pray to God for the healing power to overcome difficulties. A nearby Ganesh temple, dedicated to the deity believed to bring prosperity and peace to families, was also crowded with worshippers and pilgrims. More than 100 people formed a long line at the entrance, while incense filled the temple grounds with smoke.
Nepalese worshippers folded their hands and prayed quietly.
“I have been suffering every day because I haven’t been able to contact my mother for a week since the floods,” said Aishwarya Karki, 51. “I prayed that my sorrow might be eased, even just a little.”
Dhitri Tamang, 32, said her cousin had died in the floods. “I prayed that my family would never have to go through a disaster like this again,” she said. “But those of us who are still alive have to keep living, don’t we?”
Photos of missing people are posted on a wall of the main building at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Byung-jin
As time passes, the number of dead and missing continues to rise. Yet people cannot afford to give up hope. Those who survived after being swept away by the raging waters are living proof that miracles can happen.
At the intensive care unit of Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Siddhartha Damang, 40, recalled being rescued by helicopter 48 hours after he was swept away by the floods.
He survived after becoming caught on a tree branch and being pushed toward the riverbank. After being transported to the hospital, he lost consciousness but woke up the following day.
“I don’t remember exactly where I was rescued,” Damang said. “The only thing I remember is seeing rocks flying toward my face again and again as I was being carried away by the fast-moving water.”
Meanwhile, his wife and children had been going from one nearby military base to another, desperately asking rescuers to find him, even if only his body could be recovered.
When the family finally managed to make contact three days later, his wife was so overcome with emotion that she could barely speak.
Damang’s injuries remain severe. Both of his arms are in casts, and his head is wrapped in bandages. But wounds around his right eyebrow, forehead and other parts of his face are slowly beginning to heal.
Members of a Korean government joint rapid response team, dispatched to search for nine Koreans who remain out of contact following devastating floods in Nepal, prepare to board a helicopter at a Nepal Army helipad in the Rasuwa district of Nepal, Tuesday. Yonhap
One day, the pain inflicted on Nepal by the floods will also come to an end.
“My uncle, brother-in-law and cousin, who were working together at a hydropower plant in Rasuwa, where the floods occurred, are still missing,” Damang said. “Just as I survived, I pray every day that my other family members will also be found somewhere.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.