Others sit meditating or wash their bodies furiously. The light is golden and soft. There are no human corpses today, but kites swoop to scavenge in the middle of the river. Near our boat the water comes to life. A blind river dolphin breaks the surface snout first.
Many tiny teeth are visible in the long jaws.
The rounded forehead appears, then the finless, ridged back cuts the water smoothly. A dead buffalo floats by. And somebody's arm. Water gurgles softly through the ancient stone raceways that run along the narrow street. Thin green pondweeds wave in the current.