VELLORE: He is neither an undertaker nor a mortuary worker but most of the days he is busy giving a dignified funeral to unclaimed dead bodies. Born in a family of daily wage labourers, 38-year-old S K Jai Shankar has taken a path that is traversed hardly by anyone.
“When I receive a body, I bury it irrespective of its condition,” he says adding that some of the cadavers he received were rotten and worm-ridden.
With great respect for the dead and kindness for the frail and downtrodden, this “Shiva devotee”, he fondly calls himself so, has been serving destitute and vagabonds for over 15 years. But, he didn’t start life this way.
After the death of father Kuppusamy, the only bread winner of the family till then, Jai Shankar started distributing biscuits for hotels and bakeries. He also worked as a cleaner for trucks. “Though, I was able to feed my stomach with a meagre wage, I was unable to feed my soul. For that, I even decided not to get married.” he said.
Soon, he walked away from the regular course of life and started to walking the path of serving. “I started looking for old and frail people in the street. I would cut their hair, wash their bodies with their permission, buy them food and hand over some money. Some people would be so weak and unable to talk yet I try to understand their needs and fulfil them as much as possible,” he said.
But this Good Samaritan was yet to reach the peak of his serving mentality until he found about unclaimed bodies rotting in morgues of government hospitals.
“I receive unclaimed bodies from the Police department. The police wound handover permission letter and I give it at the mortuary to claim the body. Then I will take the bodies and give them a decent burial,” the man with a purpose said.
“Some of the bodies that came to me had their skins peeled off but I never showed any grim face to them. I do not see them as Savam but as Shivamm” he added.
Jai Shankar claims that on a single day he had buried as many as 14 bodies and each was buried with funeral rituals like tying of rudraksham, food offerings, etc.
He also admits destitute and frail people to old-age homes and NGOs in Chennai, Dharmapuri and Chengalpattu.
He claims to take care of needy people within 150 to 200 km radius in Vellore and nearby districts. If he happened to know about any needy person who lived beyond this limit, he would refer them to NGOs and old-age homes in respective localities
“I get some financial help from public for the service I do and they offer money for burials as it would cost `2,000-3,000 per body,” he said. Due to shortage of money, he could not run his trust, Sivapaatha Karuna Illam Arakattalai, started in 2012 at his rented house. Nevertheless, he continues his Samaritan work relentlessly.
The goal of this full-time social worker is to save and serve 1,000 people at his planned old-age home that he hopes to start under the name of Lord Shiva.
Jai Shankar has received ‘Silent Worker Award’ and ‘Service Above Self Award’ from the Rotary Club among others.