Uncooked rice, stale gravy; "Who'll cremate us once we start dying" Pinak Roy cries in despair

In the Hindu way of life, the last rites of any deceased are held at a high pedestal in its significance and ceremonial value. According to the Vedic traditions, the first Sanskar is Garbh Dharan Sanskar (conceiving a baby) and the last one is Antyesyhi (the last rites). The importance of this Sanskar is mentioned in ‘Bodhayan Pitru Medha Sutra’. It says;

“जातसंस्कारैणेमं लोकमभिजयति मृतसंस्कारैणामुं लोकम्।”

“jātasaṃskāraiṇemaṃ lokamabhijayati mṛtasaṃskāraiṇāmuṃ lokam।”

which means that with the commemoration of other sanskar ceremonies, a human being gains control over this world and with the help of Antyeshi Sanskar, a person gains victory over the other world (heaven) also.

In another shloka, it is mentioned,

“तस्यान्मातरं पितरमाचार्य पत्नीं पुत्रं शि यमन्तेवासिनं पितृव्यं मातुलं सगोत्रमसगोत्रं वा
दायमुपयच्छेद्दहनं संस्कारेण संस्कृर्वन्ति।।”

“tasyānmātaraṃ pitaramācārya patnīṃ putraṃ śi yamantevāsinaṃ pitṛvyaṃ mātulaṃ sagotramasagotraṃ vā dāyamupayaccheddahanaṃ saṃskāreṇa saṃskṛrvanti”

This means that when your relatives and acquaintances die, you should cremate the dead body by duly observing all the rites and rituals. From the perspective of Hindu philosophy, cremation marks the end of the material superstructure of the soul. The soul is liberated from the shackles of material longings and attachments of the “Samsara”.

Thus, it is indubitably evident that the Shastras have high regard for those who help in liberating the soul of the deceased by performing the “Antyeshti Kriya “. However, in the dystopian times, we live in, the liberators of the soul, the quintessential good Samaritans who have staked their lives to accord decent cremations to the dead bodies of the COVID patients, the heroes who have been working restlessly amidst the burning bodies, charred flesh and nauseating smoke of smoldering tyres and woods; they have been inching towards death due to the absolute cruelty of the society we are all part of and an eerily indifferent Administration which seems to be unmoved by their cries.

On September 6, 2020,  Barak Bulletin did a detailed story on the plight of the members of the Rising Youth Society and their horrific experiences with family members and the society at large. A civilised society with a figment of moral sensitivity ought to have been shocked to read about their troubles and tribulations while cremating bodies of the COVID patients. Their neighbours stopped having any contact with their family members, grocery shops refused to sell essential items to their family members,  the vegetable, fish, and meat sellers were no different.

Beyond the placid veneer of civility and sanctimonious moral uprightness, our society, malignant with medieval conservatism and the lack of scientific consciousness, excommunicated the family members of the ones who were burning the bodies of the COVID patients. Pinak Roy, President of the Rising Youth Society, narrated an incident where one of the members of the NGO had to be saved from being lynched by 300 odd men of his neighborhood.

One might ask as to what his crime was – well, he went to deliver medicines to his ailing mother. Another member narrated to us an incident where a husband refused to light up the funeral pyre citing the reason that he plans to remarry within one year.  Moreover, they also complained regarding the quality of food provided to them by the Administration.

The current situation is no better, in fact, it should send shock waves down the spine of any conscientious human being. Pnak Roy, president of the Rising Youth Society, an NGO that volunteered to cremate dead bodies of COVID victim and have done it more than 70 times so far cried out in sheer despair, “We are inching towards death. The food which the Administration provides cannot be eaten by any human being. We are surviving solely on stale rice. A few well-wishers like Madhuchanda Biswas and Saptak Das send us some food as a goodwill gesture. That is what we are living on. But we are not going to survive this way.”

When enquired about the response from the Administration regarding their repeated complaints, Pinak Roy said, “The Government has sanctioned sufficient money for providing proper food to us. However, the money is getting embezzled by the middlemen. They are looting all the money. If we complain to the officers in the administration, they ask us to get in touch with the caterer Wasim Mazumdar.”

The caterer begs for forgiveness after circle officers get in action but the next day he goes back to serving stale food. Pinak and team of nine members, start cremating dead bodies after 10 PM. They reach SMCH in the evening, collect the body from the morgue, and then use one dedicated pyre at Silchar Samshan. They are allowed to start after 10:00 PM and by the time they finish, it’s morning. The food packed at night gets stale by the time they reach their quarantine centre.

Pinak Roy added, “The rice remains half-cooked, the vegetable is rotten and by the time we unpack the meal it catches a foul smell. The supplier of our food, when approached by some of our good wishers, abused them with slurs and berated us by asking if we got any better food at our own homes.”

With a muffled voice reflective of a sense of deep wound and indignation, Pinak Roy said, “Who will cremate us when we die? ”

In Greek Mythology, there is a famous character called Charon. Charon, in Greek mythology, the son of Erebus and Nyx (Night), whose duty it was to ferry over the Rivers Styx and Acheron those souls of the deceased who had received the rites of burial. In payment, he received the coin that was placed in the mouth of the corpse. The members of the Rising Youth Society have been playing the role of Charon without demanding a penny for their thankless service to this valley. Isn’t it time we recognise them and accord them the treatment befitting of heroes?