A grave version of Eid celebrations

ISLAMABAD: They form crowds as they gather in the cemetery, reciting Surahs, lighting Agarbattis, sprinkling flower petals and rosewater on the graves of their loved ones. There are many people every year, who start celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr by visiting graveyards.

“Groups of families come pouring in on Eid day; by mid-morning, the cemetery is so crowded that it is difficult to even move freely,” said Shafqat Mehmood. Mehmood has been working as a funeral undertaker for the past 35 years at Jadeed Qabristan, a graveyard located in the centre of Rawalpindi.

There are people who spend around four hours on their relatives’ graves on Eid, said Mehmood, “I guess a man never truly dies until the day no one remembers his name.”

“I visit his grave every Eid and shower flower petals; it makes me feel that I am with him again,” said Shehnaz Hassan, while visiting her son’s grave who died three years ago in a road accident.

In the same graveyard, Zahid Qureshi was visiting the grave of his sister who died of breast cancer five years ago. “She loved to wear bangles on Eid, so I bring her a pair every Eid and put them on her grave,” he said.

Sheikh Noman also visits the graveyard every Eid and offers prayers. “I come here before Eid prayers and offer Fatiha on the graves of my father, mother, elder brother, sister and other relatives,” he said.

People living in the neighbour have setup flower stalls outside the graveyard. Ashraf Rasheed, a stall owner said he set up his business especially for people who come to visit the graves of their loved ones. On Eid, the rates of digging graves also increase. Mehmood, the funeral undertaker said the charges increase from Rs7,500 to Rs8,000 for digging one grave. “We charge extra as there is shortage of labour,” he maintained.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2010.