Grand honour for the ‘guardians of the dead’

When a mother of two, Praveena Solomon, a social worker, began working at the Velankadu crematorium a few years ago, she did not just have to battle prejudices but also had to ensure efficiency and render compassionate services, as it was a place where people bade farewell to departed souls. But over a period of time, many other women have followed including Divya and Devika, who along with Esther Shanthi took up important roles in the crematoriums. 

At the moment, five women have been employed in four crematoriums across the city - Velankadu, Otteri, Adambakkam and Alandur. The Indian Community Welfare Organisation had taken over the maintenance of the crematoriums from the Corporation. Though it was difficult to bring in women tor administration and maintenance of the place, over days they had successfully managed to employ five women across the four crematoriums.

On Friday, at a ceremony presided over by K Gnanaprakasam, former judge, High Court of Madras, four of them would receive two wheelers. AJ Hariharan, secretary of IVWO, said, “We wanted to ensure safety and cleanliness at these places. We also found that the reason why women stayed away from these places was the question of security. Having worked on the aspect, today we have women and they have also been employed at the places”. He added that the fund for the two wheelers had been donated by the family of Luc Vergered, a Belgian well-wisher of the organisation, who passed away last year.