A service so thoughtful...

Recently there was a death in the family and I happened to be there to witness almost all the rituals associated with the cremation of the dead person. I have my own reservations about the rituals that are followed in our community but what touched me the most was the service that was rendered by few elderly men from my community to all sundry who need it. Let me rewind a bit....

Years back a group of men who were nearing retirement got together and decided that they would help families who have lost their near and dear ones and who are not in a state to plan the cremation all by themselves. With the help of the limited resources they had they made contacts with the local crematorium (so that u don’t have to wait for long for ur turn to come!), contacted vendors who sell things related to a cremation (new clothes, puja items etc etc), organised a death certificate from the local municipality and most importantly these days (they come at a premium believe me!) arranged the pandits!!! As soon as they come to know that there has been a death (mainly through word of mouth and through the hospitals and doctors that they are in contact with) they take over the proceedings and ensure that the family doesn’t have to run around at such difficult times and face red tapism, corruption and other issues at such a sensitive moment in their lives.

Best of all this is that, it is voluntary work and they don’t charge a penny for this!! You could donate whatever u want to, to the group...that’s about it. In today’s times we rarely get to see such a selfless service. I have seen so many charity activities in the last few years that I have been in this field but haven’t come across anything more thoughtful and sensitive.
Hats off to this group of young men!