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Rameshan is an ex-journalist.  From using words to either to bury or ignite ideas, he has now moved on to burying and cremating dead bodies.  He is an undertaker at the Aivarmadom cemetery in Thiruvillwamala on the banks of Bharatapuzha in Thrissur District, and has studied the subject of cremation with scientific rigour and clinical detachment.

“I didn’t take it as a job initially,” he says.  “But nowadays a contract is made for any job.  So, cremation is also done as a contract through which I provide a number of employment opportunities for other,” he says.

A postgraduate, Rameshan cremates nearly 20 bodies a day.  Even a documentary, ‘Atmakkalude Kavalkkaran’ was made on him.  He has studied the funeral rites practiced by different faiths in India.  He also studied the scriptures before taking up the job.  According to him, most of the materials used for cremation have antiseptic value.

Although he spends hours in the cemetery and witness death day in and day out, some deaths affect him emotionally.  One such was the death of the local Grama Panchayat President who used to take interest in improving the facilities of the cemetery.

His assistants work for a few days and then disappear suddenly.  The reason is not hard to infer: they cannot get sleep at night.  But Rameshan has no such problems as he approaches death spiritually and scientifically.

He says he wants to establish an institution to teach funeral rites scientifically to those who wish to learn it.  “The real meaning of rituals should be imparted to the public,” he says.

Courtesy: Kundur Satya Narayanan, The Hindu, April 29, 2007
Contributed by: Administrator

"A man has learned much, who has learned how to die."