In service of the dead

At a time when millions of wretched souls, abandoned by near and dear, are praying gods to take their lives back as there is no one to look them after, what is the condition of their bodies once the souls leave them for good?  

Hundreds of unclaimed bodies are lying in morgues in hospitals across the city and authorities are unsure as to what to do with them. After waiting for some time, the municipal workers dispose off the bodies most unceremoniously, who cares if their souls rest in peace or not?

Yes, city-based Satya Harischandra Foundation does. It is into cremating unclaimed bodies with all rites and ceremonies. “We have several volunteers working with our foundation. Even students spend their time for conducting funerals of unclaimed bodies.
During 2006-2009 alone, our foundation has performed final rites for 851 bodies from Gandhi Hospital and 1,303 from Osmania General Hospital (OGH). We also traced about 270 cases of missing complaints filed in various police stations in the city,” said Rajeshwar Rao, founder of Satya Harischandra Foundation.

Rao, who was forced to discontinue education at intermediate level, realized the need to perform the last rites of unclaimed bodies at an early age.  “In 1996, when I was working in a photo studio at Afsalgunj, near OGH mortuary, we used to inhale foul smell emanating from the mortuary. One day I visited the mortuary with the help of my father, who was working as fourth class employee in the OGH. I found a huge dump of unclaimed bodies there. It was then I started thinking how to justify my journey.”

“I managed to get permission from the authorities to perform the final rites of the unclaimed bodies after much effort in 2009,” Rao said.

“Because of my service to the dead through the foundation, I have faced many personal problems. I have lost my property, faced the wrath of my relatives. We are not invited to any function, our family members are boycotted by our relatives. Even my two brothers are involved in this activity due to which they have suffered a lot. Initially we could not find matches for them but now they are married, though very late. Now things are ok,” Rao explained.

“Our website www.unknownbodies.org regularly provides information about unclaimed bodies,” adds Rao.