Messiah for the dead: Ludhiana woman cremates unclaimed bodies

Poonam Pathania from Ludhiana cremates unclaimed bodies without taking any support from the government or any organisation. She is an active social worker who is doing her part in contributing to the society in several ways.

Ludhiana (Punjab): A Ludhiana-based social worker Poonam Pathania has taken it upon herself to cremate the bodies of those who are left unclaimed by their family members. Poonam has so far cremated more than 100 dead bodies left unclaimed by the family. She says she wants to spend her life in service to humanity.

In a conversation with ETV Bharat, Poonam said she did not take up the initiative with any intentions in mind, but did it only because she wanted to work for humanity. "One day, when my student's father died, I went to the cremation ground and saw a dead body lying unclaimed there. That is when I decided to cremate bodies. I cremate bodies and perform the last rites at my own expense and do not take even a single penny from any organization. My students and family also help me in this noble cause," Poonam said.

"After the verification of the body is done and there is no one to claim the body, the police in charge of that area calls me and asks whether I would like to cremate the body. After all this, I perform the last rites and ensure the dead gets the honor they deserve," she added. Poonam faced several challenges as she dared to take up this unusual initiative.

"Being a woman, it was tough for me as many people including my relatives reminded me that I should not get involved in cremation work. Many women aren't even allowed near cremation grounds. Even my family objected to cremating bodies, but now even they have understood that someone needs to come up to bring a change in society," Poonam said. Her family sees her as a shining light now.

Apart from the cremation initiative, Poonam is an inspirational gym trainer for many in her area. Her personal life has an inspiring story wherein she got up from rock bottom and made a good life for herself and others around her. "I met with an accident in 2019. Doctors advised me complete bed rest, due to which I ended up being depressed. But I did not lose hope. With continuous exercise and proper food, I started recovering slowly. And today I am here, training students in my gym," Poonam said.

"I train boys and girls so that they stay away from drugs as drug addiction in Punjab is increasing day by day. I even teach self-defense to girls, which is very important," she added. Apart from running a gym, Poonam organizes self-defense camps in various schools. She also works as a social worker and organizes blood donation camps.

"Youth in Punjab is getting more involved in drugs. We need to change this. We need to bring our youth on the right track. I train the young generation to focus more on their fitness and stay away from any kind of drugs. I also motivate them to do social work and work for the betterment of society."

Poonam does all this without any government support. Though she gets support from some friends and family members, the kind of work that Poonam is singlehandedly doing for the people is more valuable than can be imagined.