TV viewers will remember Six Feet Under, the gory HBO show about a family of undertakers. Every episode opened with a hard-hitting death sequence, slowly unravelling a complex past. Making light of the inescapable finality of all our fates is fraught with complications, since even a happy death carries with it a disquieting hysteria. It would be a melancholic topic for a Monday morning if it wasn’t for Daljit Sean Singh, 46, who’s made a rather unusual business out of giving people a meaningful send off. Two years ago, Sean Singh started Antim Yatra, a company specialising in funeral services. Like the Chaos Theory about situations that are impossible to predict and control, death, and reactions to it can be far out of proportion with what one anticipates. Antim Yatra steps in to handle the turbulence after the chaos – the distasteful but essential necessities of sourcing a refrigerated coffin when it’s 45 degrees, booking the cremation ground, organising food for the relatives, printing the obituary and planning the chautha. “People hire us so that they can grieve in peace,” says Singh. Recently, I saw the despair my best friend and her brother experienced when their parent passed away after a prolonged stay in the ICU. Once a death happens, you’re entirely on your own. The hospitals quickly absolve themselves of all responsibility, even transport. You’re left trying to make sense of a Kafkaesque nightmare of loss, bills and confusing rituals you know nothing about. ---------------------------------------- Also read: From immersing ashes to sending reminders, new-age funeral planners cover all bases ---------------------------------------- Singh has soft grey eyes and sports an unruly salt and pepper beard. He looks like the kind of guy who thinks about death a lot. “Only about making it easier for those left behind,” he assures me. Before this, he was an assistant manager at Diva, Chef Ritu Dalmia’s restaurant. He has a somewhat chequered history and a particularly low phase in the US led Singh to realise that he would hate to have his remains scattered anywhere besides India. “We started with NRIs who wanted their ashes brought to the Ganges,” he says, “But ended up launching here.” So far Antim Yatra has organised 14 funerals, one of which was for filmmaker Mira Nair’s father. Another was a wake for an Anglicized Indian family, where guests celebrated the deceased’s life with his favourite whiskey. They’ve performed the last rites only for Hindus and Sikhs but are geared for burials as well. They own two hearses and plan to make an investment on a fancier Mercedes hearse next year, depending on how business shapes up (and I say that without a hint of irony). Singh is married to a successful wedding planner, Namrata, so between the two of them they have the circle of life covered, almost. Weirdly enough there’s a lot of synergy there, since the events preceding a marriage and post demise have startling similarities. Namrata tells me reactions range from appalled horror to morbid fascination when friends and clients discover what her husband does. Singh says he’s proud of his business, which is a service a city like Delhi desperately needs. “When this happens, where do you begin?” asks Singh. He cites examples of people rushing back after spending 20 years abroad, clueless about arranging a pundit or doing the million other things our native customs demand. In the future, for those extra finicky about their last destination, Antim Yatra plans tie-ups with a Swiss company that can convert human ashes into a smoky diamond (for six thousand dollars) or an American option, where your ashes will be scattered in outer space. Writers, in any case, agonize over the perfect ending to a story. So nothing like a straight forward confrontation with your own ceremonial exit to take the edge off the final farewell. Packages begin at Rs 7,100. For more details, contact support@antimyatra.in hutkayfilms@gmail.com
