INDIA, April 29, 2012 (India Times): A double polythene packet might not seem to be the way we would want to send our loved ones out of this world. But then again, this is a double polythene packet that is placed inside a cloth bag, which goes in a plastic box that’s given to a courier who delivers it to Kashi Moksha Incorporated, which has an office in Nandan Sahu Lane near Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat, where it is said that the fires from cremations of devout Hindus have not gone cold in centuries.
Jata Shankar Dwivedi, who is giving the instructions about how to send the ashes of the departed, set up Kashi Moksha Inc. as a one-stop shop for all Varanasi cremation related services. Dwivedi, who claims links to the Raja Guru of Nepal’s royal family, says he has customers from across India, and also from the US, South Africa and Canada. He charges in the range of US$20 to $200, with extras for special needs and rituals.
He explains that along with the remains, out-of-station customers must send an authorization letter from the son or daughter of the deceased. “Once we receive the remains of the deceased, five acharyas perform the ritual of asthi visarjan and shraadh at the banks of Ganga amidst chanting of holy mantras. We can also make a mobile call from the place the last rituals are held and take sankalp from the son of the deceased.”
The key point to note, says Dwivedi, is “We video record all related moments, right from receiving the courier to holding the rituals till the Brahmin bhojan – free food to Brahmins. A CD is sent to the customer so that he can personally see how the rituals were conducted.”