The Business Of Death, In God's Own Country

Christian burials turn larger than life in Kerala

- Jeemon Jacob

A funeral serves many different purposes. For some, it is an outlet for grief; for others, a celebration of the life that just ended. In today’s world of hyper-consumerism, it is one more thing—the last occasion to tell the world that the departed soul had a great inning on this earth.

And so, a thriving service industry has sprung up in god’s own country, offering a bouquet of ways to mark the ending of a life—in style. The competition to make the last journey a memorable event has even given a springboard to this thriving sector. The targets for the funeral business are NRIs, and those rich enough to spend millions of rupees burying their loved ones. And just like that, Kerala is slowly adapting to mega-stylish funerals, organised by event management companies.

It was the Christian communities in Kerala—18.4 per cent of the 33.4 million strong population—that first opted for funerals as stylish as the jumbo weddings that are trendy these days. But many others are jumping aboard the bandwagon, and to service this rising demand, several event management companies specialising in funeral services have sprung up in NRI towns.

Among them is Pathanamthitta, about 100 km northeast of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, known for its sizeable NRI population. Many other areas, like Kumbanad, Pullad, Kozhenchery and the suburbs of Thiruvalla are known NRI pockets too, inhabited mostly by older folk and minors. In places like these, a death is an occasion for a family reunion— as well as an opportunity to show off.