INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

When the service comes to an end all the mourners line up in male and female
rows at the entrance of the gurdwara and community members express their sympathy
by greeting and embracing the mourners. Afterwards all are invited to share a
meal. In case the deceased died at an old age and had seen his or her grandchildren
the food distributed will be considered as “good” and consist of fried bread (puri),
vegetables and sweets. But if life was abruptly taken from a young person who had
not completed his or her responsibilities the meal will be simpler with bread (roti)
and vegetables to mark out death as an event of grief.
Death donations presented before Guru Granth Sahib at Gurubagh Gurdwara
Another and somewhat modern way to express sympathy in the death of a family
member or friend is obituary notices. In the year 2002 when the president of the
gurdwara committee, Ajit Singh Sabharwal, passed away, a local Hindi newspaper
dedicated a supplement to his life and service to society. No less than twenty-one
obituary notices, sponsored by the gurdwara committee and private businesses, covered
the edition. While expressing condolences in statements like “We deeply mourn
the sad demise of our beloved, may his soul get a place at the feet of the Guru,” the
companies used the notices to also advertise for cookies, ice cream, undergarments
and other products. In Varanasi it is quite uncommon to find advertisements such as
these with obituaries and whenever they occur it is usually in connection with the
death of a renowned person.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008