Mumbai: Today, you’ll see graveyards looking far more cheerful than they do the rest of the year. November 2 is All Souls’ Day, when the departed are prayed for.
“I visit the graves of my parents and brother in Juhu,” says Mary Fernandes. “We get the graves cleaned, decorate it with flowers, light candles, and pray for them, and attend a prayer service at the chapel in the graveyard. Later, we also move around in the graveyard to light candles and offer prayers on unattended graves, for the souls of people who may have no one to pray for them.” While these practices are in common with what Catholics in other parts of the world do, there is a desi flavour to observances in India. Ms. Fernandes says, “We keep a small bottle of my father’s favourite drink there. There are people who also keep biryani for the crows to eat. There are people selling flowers, candles and other stuff near the graveyard, creating a festive atmosphere.”
Pauline David also visits her mother’s grave, with her family. “We garland her grave as a mark of respect, pray for the blessed life she led. However, I personally don’t believe in visiting graves, as I know that she is no more there, but we do it for our father.”
Reena Samraj viists three graves every year: her father's in Mulund, her brother’s in Dombivli, and her child’s in Kanjurmarg. “Last year I had taken leave but this year I have to juggle my visits with office work. No matter what, I will visit all three.”
Catholics believe that mortals die with imperfections, and after death, their souls spend time in purgatory before their eternal fate — heaven or hell — is decided. “We believe souls go through a process of purification and for that they need prayers to find favour in the eyes of the Lord,” Father Anil Rego, parish priest of Nativity of Our Lord Church, Kandivli, explains. “We hold two masses: one for prayers for those departed near and dear ones, and another for those forsaken, who have no one to pray for them.”
Catholics also remember departed saints on November 1, All Saints Day. Halloween, on October 31, has pre-Christian origins, and is regarded as more of a fun secular festival.
Not all Christian denominations share these beliefs.
Members of the Orthodox church do pray for their departed, but around March, before Lent. “As per our faith, both the living and the dead are awake and conscious before the Lord,” says Father Benjamin Philip, parish priest of St. Peter’s Orthodox Church, Colaba. “While we can pray for the dead, the dead also can feel the presence of god and can pray for us. Lent is a period when we embark on a spiritual journey for which we seek prayers from our forefathers, and that is the day when we also pray for them. November 2 is the anniversary of our patron saint, Gregorios of Parumala, and we celebrate it in a big way in our churches, especially in Kottayam.”
Many Protestant churches believe that prayers cannot influence the fate of souls in the hereafter. “Those who are dead have gone to heaven or hell; you can’t do anything about them,” says Raja Kumar, parish priest of Shalom Assembly of God Church, a Pentecostal denomination. “We do not encourage our parishioners to pray for the dead or dwell too much over them at the graveyards. They could just visit them just for emotional reasons.”
Some Protestant denominations do observe the day. The Anglican church (known as Church of North India and Church of South India in this country), holds special services, and priests pray for the departed. But Reverend Samuel Christudoss, parish priest of St. John the Evangelist Church, popularly known as the Afghan Church, in Colaba, says, “I tell people that if instead of keeping personal things at the graves of their dear ones, they should instead give it to the poor.” There will be no special service on November 2; instead the church will hold a memorial service on November 12, with prayers for departed defence personnel. The denomination’s main graveyard in the city, in Sewri, spread over acres, has the ancient graves from the Raj era, including those of soldiers killed in wars. “It’s a very special service,” Rev. Christudoss says. “Great-grandchildren of soldiers who died in World War I and II also come from abroad to participate. Defence personnel place a wreath at the altar for their departed colleagues.”
