29-year-old Subeena Rahman, a Muslim woman, is busy crematorium job in Kerala’s Thrissur district. Rahman, clad in protective gear, lights a lamp and performs basic rituals she learned from Hindu friends in order to give the departed a decent final journey.
Rahman has been working as a cremator for the past three years in a Hindu cremation ground at Irinjalakuda in Thrissur. Initially, there were loud protests from her community as well as from Hindus, but all came around after noticing her commitment towards her work.
According to the Hindu tradition in many parts of the country, women usually don’t accompany the deceased to cremation grounds. An undergraduate (she is yet to complete her B Com), Rahman was initially recruited as a clerk at SNBS Samajam crematorium. Later she took up all jobs like her two assistants.
Now, the three employees share their work and each body fetches them ₹500 in fees, which they divide among themselves. Earlier, three to five bodies were cremated every day at the gas-based crematorium, but the number has increased to 10 to 12 due to Covid-19.
“After every cremation, I pray no more bodies, but I need money also. It is a big conflict between my need and emotions. A number of times I cried in my PPE (personal protective equipment) kits. But as an employee, we are not supposed to show our emotions in public,” Rahman said.
She candidly admitted her work was not part of women’s lib or breaking of another glass ceiling. She said she knocked at many doors as the situation in her home deteriorated, and when the offer came to be a crematorium clerk, she grabbed the opportunity.
SNBS Samajam is a social organisation working for the uplift of Ezhavas, the largest Hindu community in Kerala, comprising roughly 23% of the state’s population. Viswambharan said besides Hindus, members of the Christian community also use the SNBS crematorium.
Talking about her job, she said cremating young accident victims (mainly two-wheeler drivers) and children really move her, but she has the least regard for those who die by suicide.
Rahman wants to become a police officer and has started preparing to complete her graduation. Despite her long duty hours and domestic chores, she keeps abreast of the world around her. She won ₹1.50 lakh in a TV reality show (Flowers Channel) on Sunday. “I dream of a world where there is no hate or mad race. All religions exhort us to love each other,” she said.
“Subeena is very particular about the customs of different communities. When my mother died of Covid-19 last year, she arranged a priest in a PPE kit to do her last rites. She is a symbol of brotherhood,” said PK Dayanandan, a schoolteacher.
source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/