RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: every now and then, media reports and visuals on social media emerge of family members carrying bodies of their kin on bikes in the absence of Mahaprasthanam vehicles at hospitals or due to the reluctance of ambulance drivers to ferry them. In such times, the story of Sheikh Basha, a resident of Polavaram village around 30 kms away from Rajamahendravaram, acts as a reason to believe in humanity.
He attends emergency calls from grieving families or hospitals asking for help to carry bodies. An auto driver by profession, he doesn’t exploit the opportunity to make quick money as he only expects people to take care of the fuel expenses. Now 37 years old, Basha is still unmarried. He has been helping people relocate bodies of their relatives in his auto-rickshaw for the past five years.“People hesitate to marry off their daughters to me because of my work. I took it up not as a choice, but the reality made me shoulder the responsibility,” he says.
Five years ago, Basha witnessed a situation in which there was no one agreeing to conduct the funeral of a migrant worker, who died at the Polavaram project site. He convinced his mother that he would perform the ritual. The incident acted as a precedence for others in the village to turn to Basha for help in such situations. So far, he has helped in the transportation and cremation of around 340 people, many of whom were orphans. On Tuesday, he performed the cremation of a destitute.
His constant source of inspiration and faith has been his mother and brother, after losing his father. The only disappointment in his life is his inability to find a bride due to his work. “But that doesn’t bother me. I believe that the work I do is sacred. I live with my mother and brother in a house given to us by the government. We are comfortable.” During peak Covid, Basha shifted or performed the last rites of at least 50 people, he claims.
Helped cremate 340 people
Even at 37 years of age, Basha is still unmarried. He has been helping people relocate bodies in his auto-rickshaw for the last five years. So far, he has helped in the transportation and cremation of 340 people