Source: epaper.hindustantimes.com

ALLAHABAD, INDIA, June 28, 2009: Kanpur, lost his uncle a year ago, he made just one telephone call. And with it, all the funeral arrangements were taken care of, for a payment of $700. “There was no confusion at all,” he says. “We could grieve in peace. We only had to attend the cremation like any other visitor.”

Traditional Hindu funerals have always been elaborate affairs: expensive and time-and energy-consuming. They remain expensive, but in the major towns of Uttar Pradesh, organizing them need no longer be full of hassle.

For those prepared to pay, there is a new breed of funeral operators who take care of everything, from transporting the corpse to the cremation ground to performing the shraddha ceremony some days later.

As with holidays,there are a range of packages on offer, varying from a budget class $100 to a premium $2,000.

Posted in Hindu Press International

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