This is the story of 54-year-old Suresh Singh Tanwar. Hailing from Ratlam’s Jawahar Nagar in Madhya Pradesh, Suresh had been a youth of 31 when his elder brother, Sohan Singh Tanwar (35), had gone missing. They had tried looking for him everywhere, but nowhere could Sohan be found.
Suresh Tanwar carrying on the last rites Naidunia
After a few years, when almost everyone had forgotten about Sohan, suddenly a thought drifted on Suresh’s mind – perhaps there was someone who had been helping Sohan out for all these years. And he should, too, in some way or the other, help people in distress. It was then that the thought of cremating unclaimed dead bodies dawned in his minds.
Today, 23 years after Sohan went missing, it has been found out that his younger brother had cremated more than 1,037 people in just 19 years. Not only just he cremates people but does so with utmost piety, making sure all the religious rules and regulations are followed perfectly. And he does so without charging a single penny from anyone. For him, it is a way of helping people just like someone would perhaps have helped his brother in peril.
According to Suresh, he had cremated as many as 162 unclaimed dead bodies last year itself. The toll for this year has reached 101 till now, with five more months to go.
On September 16, Suresh will go all the way to Haridwar for the immersion of the ashes of cremated bodies into the holy water of the Ganges, following which he will also take the holy dip and perform tarpan. Prior to all these, he will hold a three-day ‘Bhagavad Gita’ paath and shraddhanjali program at the Jawahar Nagar Muktidham from September 11, praying for the salvation of the cremated souls.
Representational Image Hiveminer
According to Suresh, he gets immense help from the police station adjoining the hospital and the Muktidham Samiti. Whenever the cops get to know about any unclaimed dead body lying at the hospital, they immediately call Suresh up to carry out the last rites. They help a lot with the crematory process as well. Previously, the Muktidham Samiti used to charge Rs 1,500 per cremation but now, for Suresh, they have lowered the amount to Rs 1,000 to facilitate his divine endeavor.
Let the blessings pour in for his lost brother who inspired such selfless acts.