The body has reached the crematorium. Relatives and friends take a final look at it. It is slid into the furnace and consigned to the fire.
The wait for the ashes begins. At this juncture, a song plays.
Music is now a feature of the Besant Nagar crematorium. It is aimed at comforting the bereaved. It is an initiative of Zone 13 of the Chennai Corporation, which manages the crematorium. The Corporation requested poet Vairamuthu to write a song that could be played at the crematorium.
“He was only too glad to help and gave us a poem. The words of the poem console the bereaved who have assembled at the crematorium. It is nearly three months since we installed the music player. The initiative has been well received,” says Corporation official G. Kesavan.
“Unlike in films where I write for imaginary characters, this poem is about the death of a real-life individual. Vijay Yesudas who sang the song, managed to capture the depth of the its sentiments,” says Mr. Vairamuthu.
“Death is associated with grief and loss. Humanity fails to understand that death is a great teacher. The death of a dear can lead to a state of surrender,” says Vairamuthu, trying to communicate the essence of the poem. “There is no need to grieve, for the dead merges with the five elements. He leaves behind his deeds to live among us. The seed falls to the earth only to blossom again. The physical body made of mud has now returned to its rightful place, the earth”, he explains.
“This initiative has been emulated at a crematorium functioning under the Thiruvannamalai Municipality. Also at Odaipatti, a village in Theni district, people have written the poem on the walls near a burial ground. They could not afford a music player,” says the Corporation official.
