Glimpse of Bihari brotherhood: Laborers pocket money to send dead body to Bihar
Srinagar: An example of unflinching Bihari brotherhood was Tuesday afternoon witnessed in the middle of Eidgah grounds, when hundreds of Bihari labourers assembled to pool money so that they could send the dead body of their colleague, Anwar Ali (18) home, who died after a brief illness at SMHS Hospital on Tuesday morning.
Bihari labourers had reached Eidgah grounds in the afternoon to have the last glimpse of Anwar, and left in the evening soon after the required amount to send his body home was collected from everybody.
“In total, around 1 lakh 15 thousand rupees were collected, out of which we will be paying the vehicle that will be taking his body home,” said Abdul Mujeeb, a labourer, who was also present in Eidgah grounds.
Hailing from Bihar’s Purnia district, Anwar Ali was working at an embroidery workshop located at Hawal, where he was earning handsome money, out of which a large portion was sent home on monthly basis, rest he used to spend on himself, “being a youngster, he was up to the mark when it came to fashion, however, he was equally aware of his responsibilities back home,” said Shahnawaz, who used to work with Anwar.
The scene at Eidgah grounds were gloomy because of the death of a young boy, and at the same time a strange feeling of satisfaction was also overpowering, given the belonging, that all those who were present at the scene, were depicting, unknowingly.
Those who were present said that early in the morning their phones started ringing and they were informed that Anwar Ali has passed away.
“All of us were asked to assemble in Eidgah for Janazah and were also told that they are expected to contribute some money so that the dead body would be sent back to his village. In the morning somebody called me, and told me everything, though, I didn’t know Anwar personally, but he was from Bihar, so I thought that I owe something to him,” said Abdul Mujeeb, a carpenter by profession.
There were many others like Mujeeb who did not know Anwar personally, but had assembled in the grounds and were willing to pay their share. Amid all this, there was not a feeling like-why would I contribute, rather, everybody contributed whole heartedly.
As the Sun was setting over the horizons, Anwar’s body was dispatched in a vehicle which would be taking it to Purnia where his body will be handed over to his family.
“The vehicle owner has charged us around sixty thousand rupees and the rest of the amount will be handed over to his family,” said Shahnawaz, adding that the body will be accompanied with two to three persons along with the owner of the embroidery workshop.
KV Correspondent
