Jaipur: A government teacher in Udaipur, Rajasthan has a become family member for those families who somehow could not perform the last rites of their loved ones. This teacher and his friends not only perform the last rites of patients who died of Covid but telecast it live for the family so that they can have their last darshan.
This teacher Kishan Soni is a physical instructor in a government school. He and his team of friends have performed 60 such funerals since April last year. He told that in April last year a patient of Nimbahera died of Covid here in Udaipur. His family members were also infected and there was no one to perform his last rites. Soni said, "The deceased belongs to my community so I got a call from the hospital as I am an office-bearer of one of the organizations of my community. It was really difficult for me to do that as there were many misconceptions and my family was very scared, but I performed the last rites with Covid protocol. Then I decided to continue this as I felt that this kind of situation could happen to any family and it proved right as we have done 60 such funerals."
He told that there are cases where patients came here from outside for treatment like a couple who came here from Bihar for treatment. "Husband died of Covid. The wife called her family members, but nobody could come because of the lockdown. She waited for three days, and then called us and we helped her," he said.
Kishan gets calls through social media. When somebody contacts him, he first makes sure that there is nobody from the deceased’s family to perform the funeral, and then only he takes the responsibility. He said, "Last one month was very hectic. Half of the funerals we have done were in the last 30 days and sometimes we have to cremate 3-4 bodies in a day. It was a shaking experience."
