Hardev & Tashy: The Punjabi undertakers

It sounds simple – drive a hearse from point A to point B – but it does not just end there. These sewadars do what others will not or cannot do, from cleaning the bodies of the deceased, preparing the bodies for cremation, to making funeral arrangements based on the needs of the deceased’s families.

“It can get really unpleasant sometimes. There was once when the was blood oozing out from the mouth and ears of the deceased. The entire coffin was filled with blood.” There are also times when the deceased’s own family members aren’t willing to wash the body, so these sewadars step up and do the deed themselves.

On the matter of funeral rituals, they responded “It is important to educate ourselves on what we are doing, some rituals are obsolete nor are they part of Sikhi. When in doubt always refer to the Gurdwara for guidance.” They added “This is definitely not an easy thing to do, but it gets easier each time. We also humbly request and appeal for more sewadars to come forward to help out with this sewa.”

But it is not an all gloomy and unpleasant trade, there are perks to the job as well. Apart from being able to switch the hearse siren on to beat traffic, free passes at toll gates and confusing already confused ritualistic individuals, the sincere gratitude from family members keeps them going.

We don’t want to forget the sewadars not highlighted in this write-up, namely Gurwinder, Harpal and Amarjeet. These sewadars – or as we would like to call them ‘Silent Heroes’ have probably attended more funerals than other festivities in the past few years. We salute and applaud their selfless sewa, performed day in day out.

Source: Adapted from the SIMPLY INCREDIBLE MALAYSIAN SIKHS series at at SNSM – Sikh Youth Malaysia Facebook page. SNSM is short for Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia.