MANGALURU: With the lockdown norms limiting the number of people at funerals and cremations to just five, there is a steady rise in live-streaming of funerals in Mangaluru, Udupi and surrounding areas. While the middle class prefer live-streaming the last rites on Facebook and other social media platforms, some well-to-do families are ready to shell out more for it by live-streaming the funerals on local news websites that have good reach even abroad, especially the Gulf countries.
Naizil Rodrigues, a PG student of journalism at St Aloysius College and a freelance photographer, said he has live-streamed three funerals in Kinnigoli during the last one month. “Three people died in our Kirem parish in the last one month and I live-streamed all three funeral services. While some do it on their own using mobile phones, there are also people who hire videographers to do it in order to give it a professional touch,” he said.
The trend has come as a helping hand for photographers who were in distress due to the lockdown. While they earn up to Rs 1,500 for live-streaming of a funeral via mobile phone, they get Rs 1,000 more if it’s done using a video camera. Local channels are charging up to Rs 20,000 for the service.
Prakash, a professional photographer who recently live-streamed a funeral in Kulshekar, said the trend is more common among the Christian community. “In the past, not many funerals were live-streamed and it all began with the second wave of Covid-19. Families whose close relatives live abroad, who cannot take part in funerals, are opting for live-streaming. Since it is also cost-effective, families readily agree for the service,” he said.