Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Children of God

Posted on June 21, 2013October 10, 2016 by Dharma Documentaries
A moving documentary about kids living in a crematorium on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, where they make their living scavenging from offerings made at a cremation.

Children-of-God-00

This is a very moving documentary, photographed partly in verite-style, about kids living in a crematorium on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, where they make their living scavenging from offerings made at a cremation, or in honour of ancestors.

The film spends most of its time watching a couple of kids as they retrieve coins from offerings floated for the dead, or scavenge clothes offered to the dead to take to resellers.

They use magnets to dredge the river floor for fallen coins, and also for gold that was placed in the mouths of the dead. They retrieve wood used in the cremations that is then recycled and take food from offerings (after the crows and dogs have finished).

The other side of the film is watching events at the Shree Pashupatinath Aryaghat Service Center, a hospital alongside the crematorium, from which most do not emerge alive but go straight to the crematorium.

The children also spend time begging at the nearby Gosala street, where the older kids are hooked on glue-sniffing, often to the point where they forget to eat, and their prospects here are grim.

One of the most moving things about this tale of poverty and distress if the young boy Alesh’s love and care for his 4-year old sister, who is unable to look after herself. Their Mother meanwhile, is almost permanently drunk, and unable to look after either of them.

If ever there was a film about how the other half lives this is it. The film was shot and directed by the Korean filmmaker Yi Seungjun, and was released in 2008.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAGS:
Culture, Children, Death, Nepal, Rights

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe by Email Subscribe to our Feed

Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2E2

Donations

This site has taken 10 years to build, and has 700+ documentaries on it. If you would like to support the expenses involved, you can do so here. Even small amounts help.

choose amount:  

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • The Journey of Xuanzang: An Introduction

Recent Posts

  • Our Only Home, a Climate Change Film
  • The Kingdom of Nature (in Cambodia)
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sowers of Joy (Nuns Travel across India)
  • Life Beyond 2, The Museum of Alien Life
  • Life Beyond 1, Alien Life
  • Bhutan, Change Comes to the Happy Kingdom
  • The 108 Lokesvaras in Nepal
  • Survive (the Khmer Rouge)
  • Indiana Jones 16, Foreign Devils Begone

Related Posts

  • Children of the Tsunami
  • Bhutan, Change Comes to the Happy Kingdom
  • The 108 Lokesvaras in Nepal
  • Takasera, a Portrait of a Himalayan Village
  • The Land of Dolpo
  • Nepal, The Great Plunder
  • Carving Destiny, Kathmandu
  • The Story of Buddhism 11, Culture of a Continent
  • Unity
  • The Weaver’s Daughter (told by Margo McLoughlin)
© 2021 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme