Caring for the Dead

G. Mariammal has worked in close proximity with death as the only woman undertaker arranging the funeral rites at Pasumalai crematorium in Madurai for 60 years

July 30, 2014 05:35 pm | Updated 05:35 pm IST - MADURAI

MAKING A MARK: G. Mariammal. Photo: Soma Basu

MAKING A MARK: G. Mariammal. Photo: Soma Basu

For 78-year-old G. Mariammal, the cremation ground has been her workplace for more than six decades. In a profession dominated by men, she has been tending to the dead without fear.

“I was born into this job and find nothing morbid about death,” she says. Her grandfather, mother and maternal uncle, were all undertakers. “I do not look at death as a sad event,” she says. “It is an efficient business.”

Marriage to an undertaker at the age of 20 ensured that she remained in the business and carried on the family tradition. “The burning of a body is not the culmination of a journey but actually marks a new beginning,” she says.

When there is a death in Pykara, Pudukulam or Pasumalai, Mariammal orchestrates a crowd of people to the beat of the tamukku, as the body is readied and carried through the streets on a stretcher to the Pasumalai cemetery. Once there, she carries out the final rituals for the dead.

Mariammal thinks it is an honour to be able to arrange the dignified last rites of the dead. With her grandson and other helpers, she readies the pyre. She places the dung cakes, hay, firewood and fuel and oversees every arrangement before the pyre is lit by a male family member of the deceased. But these days there are also women who perform last rites, she says.

Many times, the bereaved families are not well versed with the rituals. Mariammal then steps in and guides them. “The family members are usually grief stricken and are not able to focus,” she says, adding, “I take on whatever duties are required of me.”

Bathing and burning unclaimed bodies give her a sense of peace. “These last moments are extremely precious especially in cases of accidents or other unforeseen events where family members are unable to attend the funeral. I fill in as a loved one being able to help when there is none other.”

Mariammal was only 13 when she first entered a cremation ground to assist her mother. “I felt a bit eerie but my grandfather put a big tilak on my forehead with the ashes from the cremation ground and since then, I lost all my fears. I have the blessings of my elders,” she says. Mariammal says she has never cried but of course feels bad when she has to make funeral arrangements for those who die very young.

Mariammal gets Rs.2,000 for her work. She divides the money among all the helpers and often her share is a pittance. Dealing with corpses from an early age has made her an expert in her job. But she regrets not having studied. Her village school principal gave her direct admission to class III. But she quit within two years when her family needed more hands to help at the cremation ground.

Mariammal’s monthly earnings vary from Rs.3,000 to Rs.5,000. In these last so many years she has done over 12,000 funerals. Many times she has done so free of cost. Mariammal lost her only child after a month of his birth and after the death of her husband in 1989, she has been living with the family of his elder brother. Her income took a beating after the Madurai Corporation took over the Pasumalai cemetery last year and fixed a fee for the rituals. Still, she has no regret. She smiles and says, “Death is our common fate.” “And I will continue to live my prescribed life without any regrets.”

( Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail soma.basu@thehindu.co.in to tell her about someone you know who is making a difference )

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