Cremation

The people of Odisha take the dead bodies of their beloved one's to "Swargadwara". The name literally translates to "The Gate to Heaven".

Swargadwara is situated right on the sea shore (Bay of Bengal), facing the famous Hindu temple or Lord Jagarnath of Puri.

So cremating a body is not something where a lot of us have prior experience with.

So, while one's dealing with emotions, flash backs, logistic nightmares of carrying the dead body out of crowd of mourning relatives and friends on to suitable vehicle to go to the gate of heaven, one would be thinking about - "What Next ??".

Thankfully, the place needs no experience. There is no user manuals or no boards showing you direction too.

One thing helps. ....

The puff-eyed, un-kept being with the dead body in the boot, is the one who needs the help. Clear, un-mistakable identification. A few of the people who make this a living approach on their own.

They size up the body with their experienced gaze and say - "2 quintal wood" is all you need  and 300 gms of Ghee !!

A priest comes forward, takes note of your caste / Gotra and all.

The first chapter of the final rites start with cremation.

The eldest son of the deceased goes to the sea, takes a dip, gets a pot of water and comes back with the wet cloths.

Once a place is selected, the water is used to sprinkle and clean up / settle the dust in one area. Some fire woods are burnt and a make-shift temporary stove is made to cook porridge (rice + dal) that would be given to the soul (called "Preta").

A sequence of prayers start here which translates to "requesting the dead soul back in to the body" ! A final plea to make the dead alive !

When that and offering of the just cooked porridge ("Pinda") is done, the body is laid on layers of wood. 

The eldest son,  takes a bit of fire and puts it on the face of the body. This is called the "Mukhagni" - fire on the face. At the point, he is not supposed to stay back or look back. Should straight go to the sea, take another dip and go home, while other relatives stay back to make sure the body is cremated completely, collect a few pieces of bone and come back home.

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Note: Swargadwara has a lot of Aghori's. The "cannibals" who eat burning human flesh if any cremation is left un-attended. Aghori's are deeply religious people. They believe there is no worst thing than eating human meat, and once done that, nothing can be considered bad. A form of purification of their soul, and acceptance of everything without being judge-mental like the common people. Pretty profound for me apprehend as of now !