AP PHOTOS: Scarf, comb show changes to Hindu cremation rites

A comb. A toothbrush. A bangle. A cotton scarf — protection from the summer heat now used as a face mask.

The personal belongings of cremated COVID-19 victims lie strewn around the grounds of the Ulubari cremation ground in Gauhati, the biggest city in India’s remote northeast.

It’s a fundamental change from the rites and traditions that surround death in the Hindu religion. And, perhaps, also reflects the grim fears grieving people — shaken by the deaths of their loved ones — have of the coronavirus in India, where more than 405,000 people have died. Hindus believe cremation of the body frees the soul so it can be reborn, and they often burn belongings that were with the body at the time of the death.

International Yoga Day

A dog sleeps in the midst of exile Tibetan school children who participate in a joint yoga session at the Tsuglakhang temple to mark the International Yoga Day in Dharmsala, India, Thursday, June 21, 2018. Dozens of school children and government officials participated in the event.

AP PHOTOS: Animals decorated and sacrificed in Hindu ritual

In this Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017 photo, a Hindu devotee carries a decorated goat to be sacrificed at a temple of Hindu goddess Durga at Rani village on the outskirts in Gauhati, Assam state, India. Participants in the five-day Durga Puja festival believe the sacrifices bring prosperity and good health. But in some parts of India, religious animal sacrifices are banned.

AP Photos: Flamboyant Indian guru sentenced to prison

A popular and flamboyant Indian spiritual guru, who calls himself Dr. Saint Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim Insan, was sentenced by a judge on Monday to 20 years in prison on charges of raping two female followers.

The guru has denied raping the two followers, in a case that stems from charges filed in 2002.

The bling-loving leader is fond of red leather jackets, bejeweled hats, bicep-baring T-shirts — and cinema.

India-Pakistan International Border

Indian Border Security Force soldiers patrol near the India-Pakistan international border area at Gakhrial boder post in Akhnoor sector, about 48 kilometers from Jammu, India, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. India said Thursday it carried out "surgical strikes" against militants across the highly militarized frontier that divides the Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, in an exchange that escalated tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Dramatic scenes from the deadly overpass collapse in India

People watch as locals and rescue workers clear the rubbles of a partially collapsed overpass in Kolkata, Thursday, March 31, 2016. At least dozens have been injured and few were killed when a portion of an overpass under construction collapses in a congested area in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

67th Republic Day Parade 2016

Smerch Multiple Rocket Launcher System passes through the Rajpath, on the occasion of the 67th Republic Day Parade 2016, in New Delhi on January 26, 2016.

Flood waters swirl in south India even as rain eases

Tens of thousands of people were crowding into government-run relief camps in southern India's Tamil Nadu state on Friday, as floods continued to swirl despite a respite from days of relentless rains.

By late morning, state capital Chennai had seen little or no rain for almost 24 hours. The government has set up 97 relief camps, which are currently providing food and shelter to an estimated 62,000 people. But local residents were still complaining bitterly that their homes remained inundated and help from the government was either very slow or entirely absent.

AP PHOTOS: Hindu holy men lead bath rituals in Indian river

Naked Hindu holy men wait to bath in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins. According to Hindu mythology, the Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious battle over a nectar that would give them immortality.  

AP PHOTOS: Thousands bathe at riverside festival in India

Hindu devotees take holy dip in the River Godavari on the first official day of bathing as part of Kumbh Mela celebrations in Nasik, India, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. Bathing in sacred waters on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh festival, or Pitcher Festival, believers say rids them of their sins.  

AP PHOTOS: Kashmiris suffer as India, Pakistan trade fire

In this Thursday, Aug, 20, 2015, photo, Indian villager Pritam Lal carries his grandson on his shoulder as he walks back to his house, near international border of India and Pakistan in Akhnoor sector, 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Jammu, India. On the face of it these villages in the Jammu region of Indian Kashmir seem idyllic, but over the last two weeks these villages have been witness to an angry exchange of fire and mortar shells between Indian and Pakistani soldiers. This isn't the first time that these villages have borne the brunt of the animosity between India and archrival Pakistan. And this likely won't be the last. 

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

AP PHOTOS: Indian Muslims observe holy month of Ramadan

In this July 2, 2015, photo, Fakhruddin prays after breaking his Ramadan fast at the shrine of Syed Abdullah Khan, who was a pious Muslim, in Noida, southeast of New Delhi, India. Devoted Indian Muslims, who live in the minority in predominantly Hindu India, pray in this lot which has become their community's makeshift mosque, surrounded by towering residential apartments.

Millions worldwide take to their mats on Yoga Day

Participants perform yoga at an event to celebrate the International Yoga Day, pictured from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Yoga enthusiasts bent and twisted their bodies in complex postures across India and much of the world on Sunday to mark the first International Yoga Day.  

Millions of people bend and twist their bodies for Yoga Day

Indians perform yoga on Rajpath, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, June 21, 2015. Millions of yoga enthusiasts are bending their bodies in complex postures across India as they take part in a mass yoga program to mark the first International Yoga Day.

Aero India 2015

Two planes of Redbull team scraped each other during stunts display at the Aero India show, in Bengaluru.  

Train Accident

Rescuers cut the outer shell of a crumbled compartment of a derailed train to pull out the body of a victim, near Anekal, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bangalore, India, Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. A train derailed after hitting a boulder that had fallen on the track in southern India on Friday, killing more than ten and injuring dozens, officials said.

Jonbeel festival

A Tiwa tribal man laughs as he participates in the Jonbeel festival near Jagiroad, India, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. Tribal communities like Tiwa, Karbi, Khasi, and Jaintia from nearby hills come down in large numbers to take part in the festival and exchange goods through barter rather than money. Community fishing and cockfights are also held between tribal and non-tribal groups during this festival.  

U.S. President Barack Obama

A shopkeeper puts thread in a kite with photographs of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama for sale at a shop in Mumbai, India, Friday, Jan 23, 2015. Obama will be the chief guest during this year's parade which will be held on Jan. 26. 

Full-dress rehearsal of Republic Day parade

Indian students perform a dance in colorful costumes during the full-dress rehearsal of Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. U.S. President Barack Obama will be the "chief guest" during this year's parade which will be held on Jan. 26.