Chithagni
For the economically backward Malayalee’s in Kerala, it was extremely difficult for them to properly cremate their bodies in the traditional way in the event of the death of their near and dear ones, It was impossible to make a wooden pyre in the traditional way at such times when the house, located on either two or three cents of land, did not even have enough yard. The second scenario is due to the proximity of several houses, such as a colony, and the places that are covered and surrounded by water during the rainy season.
Dr. P. Chidambaranath, the Kottayam Vibhag Sanghchalak of the Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh and president of the Meenachil River Basin Hindu Mahasabha since its inception, wanted to start a mobile cremation unit to find a solution to above problem. It could not be completed during his lifetime. However, a year after he left this world, under the trust set up with the aim of creating a suitable memorial for the doctor, started the mobile cremation unit that the doctor had dreamt of, a revolutionary step in the field for the cremation unit, which used only coconut shell in a box made of metal. Since the flames did not come out even in the slightest bit, even in houses with only the courtyard, the funeral rites could be performed in the places adjacent to the house. Due to the presence of long smoke tubes, the smoke generated when the pyre is burnt can also perform the rituals without causing the slightest inconvenience to the householders in the vicinity. Due to this, even in the houses in the middle of the colony, it is possible to perform the last rites in their own place.
In addition to this, during 2019 the losses caused by the Covid pandemic to humanity were many and lakhs of lives have been lost. When the death toll exceeded the figures, decent cremation became impossible, and the government's protocol for the burial of those who died of the disease further aggravated that distress. The fact that people had to wait for two days at Shantikavadam, a public crematorium in Thiruvananthapuram, adds to the terror, and making it difficult for relatives who have lost their near and dear ones due to restrictions and opposition from neighbors on cremation in other public places and in the premises of their own respectively.
Many of the Christian communities where the bodies were buried according to religious rituals had to move to be buried in the church, but the space in the churches has become inadequate, and it is on this occasion that Sevabharathi came to the Society with a new version of the mobile cremation unit, with the help of Seva International, a unit that operates entirely in LPG, which is able to complete the cremation in about 2 hours.
The uniqueness of this project is that it can perform the burial of the relatives in a dignified manner in their own homes and following all the traditional rituals, which enables the ceremonies to be performed with the same love and affection given to them while they are alive. The public acceptance of this project from the general public is huge.
Chitagni is the most innovative seva thing - Vijay Puranik, Rastreeya Sevabharathi
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