Dignity in Death

The news is streaming in about unending lines for the funeral pyre. Of a shortage of wood. Of supplies. Of unprotected workers supporting the funerals of Covid-19 deceased in India. Of families heart broken from loss and scarred by the impersonal nature of what should be a solemn moment of parting - private, undisturbed, not intruded upon.

Food, health, medical supplies etc are easy to talk about, to advertise and to fund raise for. The more taboo topics like mental health and last rites often aren’t. How does one speak about the current state of cremation in India without sounding callous or clinical or disrespectful - without seeming to obsess about a morbid optimization problem? I am not sure. But, that is not a good enough reason not to have the conversation.

This is not just a pollution problem, given the current Covid-19 situation, it is one of insufficient throughput as well. What are the implications?

• Is this a health hazard waiting to happen?

• Is this leaving a generation or more of Indians with deep trauma?

• What can those in India and those outside India do about it?

In all my googling, the best reference I could find was Mokshda - but their web presence seems stale. I hope to make contact with them soon. The hunt for cremation related NGOs will continue nonetheless.