Sacred role of food in honouring the dead

Food is an integral part of commemorating the dead.

- Chinmay Damle

People remember the deceased through the everyday act of eating and reintegrate the bereaved into the community in which the deceased no longer lives.

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, one of the tallest Indian leaders, died in the early hours of August 1, 1920, at Sardargriha in Bombay. The entire nation was drowned in sorrow, and his funeral brought together the largest gathering on the Girgaum Chowpatty Sands in the city.

The ashes of the Lokmanya were brought to Pune by a special train on the morning of August 3 by his two sons. They were carried in a sandalwood casket, which was placed inside a palanquin on a bullock cart. Thousands participated in the procession. People stood along the way of the procession with folded hands and tears in their eyes. Men, women, and children offered garlands to the ashes whenever they got a chance. The palanquin was led by groups singing bhajans to the accompaniment of cymbals. The chants of “Tilak Maharaj ki Jai” and “Ramkrishna Hari’ filled the air. When the palanquin reached the mosque near Daruwala Bridge, the bhajans

It took six hours for the procession to reach Gaekwad Wada, Tilak’s residence, from the railway station four kilometres away.

Many households in Pune observed mourning for the customary thirteen days according to the Hindu tradition after Tilak’s death. On the fourteenth day, they invited Brahmins to lunch to signify the end of the mourning period.

It became a tradition for many families in Pune to observe Tilak’s death anniversary and perform rit-

uals to remember him. Dada Malshe, a leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), told me a few years ago about his uncle who fasted between Tilak’s birth and death anniversary.