Shops selling goods used for funerary customs in Varanasi

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the concept of death work and funeral rites to the forefront. Death rituals were condensed due to necessity, but that didn’t mean they lost their sacredness. Some aspects, like ritual baths given to the deceased, had to be forgone because of governmental guidelines. At the same time, with the atmosphere of death surrounding us every day, a lot of people demonstrated resilience and willingness to confront the reality. I remember talking to a volunteer in Pune during that time. He told me that a lot of women volunteers stepped in to help; girls as young as 18 to 19 years, who were assisting families to transport the bodies and perform the last rites, although some of them used to be uneasy at the sight of a funeral procession itself, earlier.

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What was tough for me to understand was that specific communities or castes are not allowed to cremate their dead, and are denied a space to bury their family members. For example, the Kalbelia community in Rajasthan, like many lower-caste communities and Dalits across the country, are not allowed to bury their dead in the funeral grounds reserved for upper-caste groups. They bury their dead around their homes instead. Caste dimensions come into play when deciding where to bury or cremate the dead, and the people who are allowed to assist during these rites.

Minakshi Dewan

Talking to funeral workers highlighted the behind-the-scenes work that, from a public-health perspective, is an important part of our system. It’s extremely tough for the workers to work in such circumstances, and that’s why they succumb to different types of addictions. It’s a neglected and underpaid job, with a heavy psychological and emotional toll. It is difficult to handle a dead person, a dead body.

Funeral rites are the last to change, but there are many makeshift changes happening, both in the country and abroad. In Christian funerals, for example, there is a doubling and tripling, which involves different members of the family being buried in the same grave. Internationally, cremation is gaining ground as a popular funerary method. Other methods are also being explored. In North America, there are ‘water cremations’, and in Japan, there are ‘tree burials’, for example.

While this subject was difficult to write about, it was also challenging. In fact, I have learned more about unravelling the processes of life than death. It taught me more about life, what is happening around me. This book is actually about people who are alive and what this indispensable part of our lives really means.