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| January 21, 2010 | Gorakhpur cremation ground emerges as tourist spot | | Gorakhpur: A cremation ground is usually a place visited under compulsion, but Muktipath in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
has surprisingly become a tourist spot. Muktipath, which means path to salvation, has been beautified in such a manner that it no longer scares people off. Its
foundation was laid on August 3, 2001 under the guidance of Nana Ji Deshmukh.
"This place was earlier full of dirt and garbage. Bodies were burnt here for almost
fifty years. Once we had come for a funeral ceremony and it started raining. Some
people who had come along started playing cards, one of them said that the dead
person is such an evil spirit that even after death his body could not be burnt.
After hearing it we thought why not to put a shade so that the bodies could be
burnt and nobody says anything like this ever again," said Durgesh Mishra, a member
of Muktipath." Today, Muktipath is no more an ordinary cremation ground but also
a place to perform marriages and hold other religious ceremonies. It's the only
cremation ground in the state, which is recognised as a tourist place by the state
government. The inscribed walls and the blossoming flowers in the garden attract
the visitors. "I haven't seen such a beautiful place before. To convert a cremation
ground into a tourist place is a great achievement. People were scared to visit
a cremation ground but this place has been so beautifully decorated that it seems
we have come to a park. I have come here for the second time," said B.N. Gupta,
a tourist. Its maintenance is looked after the Cultural Department of the state,
which will also look after its maintenance. | |
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