‘Death all around’: bereaved Indians search for solace amid pandemic as coronavirus rages on
- Few in India have been untouched by the deadly second wave of coronavirus infections that has claimed more than 280,000 lives this year alone
- In the absence of physical outlets to grieve for their loved ones, many have turned to virtual communities, helplines and tribute sites
“These are unprecedented times that we are living in. Its been full of unexpected and sudden changes from job losses and economic troubles to a lack of usual social contact,” said Dr N Rangarajan, a leading Chennai-based psychiatrist. “We’re grieving for the entire world as it is plunged into uncertainty, and for the loss of our pre-pandemic lives.”
Even children have been affected, Rangarajan said, amid “a general sense of hopelessness with death all around”. “To add to this the death of a loved one, is grief that most people don’t even have the space or energy to process,” he said.
As the pandemic rages on, even the process of mourning has become challenging, Rangarajan said, “because of the lack of the usual support of last rites and ceremonies that are an integral part of the Indian cultural system” – encompassing the gathering together of friends and relatives, and the sharing of food, as part of a two-week grieving process to help the bereaved find closure.
“Because of social distancing and online funerals and ceremonies being streamed, the nuances of an intimate grieving process are taken away. The pandemic has separated people when they need each other the most, and complicated the trajectory of grief,” he said.
In the absence of physical outlets to grieve, many have turned to virtual communities, helplines and tribute sites. Pallium India, a Thiruvananthapuram-based NGO, set up a national helpline called Sukh-Dukh to provide the grieving families of Covid-19 victims with emotional support and help them cope with their loss. Each caller is provided with three, free 45-minute sessions.