Uttarakhand: Depressed centenarian attends his own funeral

A 103-year-old man in Uttarakhand's Rampur organised his own funeral with all the Hindu religious customs and traditions. Roop Ram is struggling to battle depression and loneliness and hence decided to take this step.

Ramnagar: A centenarian, battling depression and loneliness, staged his own funeral in Uttarakhand's Rampur following all the Hindu rituals and customs. The 103-year-old staged his own funeral in Uttar Pradesh' Rampur and also organised a large-scale feast to feed people in his village.

Roop Ram says he has no clue where his daughters are and he is struggling with his loneliness, prompting him to take this step. He added that there is no one in this world to look after him and to take care of him.

He told ETV Bharat, "I want my funeral to be organised in a grand manner with band baaja and I have also paid the musical artists. As far as panchayat is concerned, they have been given Rs 6,000 so that they can make necessary arrangements and get all the essentials required to conduct the funeral."

Priest Mohan Pandey backed Roop Ram's decision to organising his own funeral and said that people often do so to attain Moksh (salvation).

"The process gives internal peace and satisfaction to self and also helps a person to leave behind the sins committed in the past. A dead person would never know what his family is doing to make him attend salvation," the priest added.

Pandey said, "Even in epic Mahabharata, Bhima had organised Pind Daan for salvation."