Church gives Hindu funeral to its hospital doctor

DHNS

• Beyond belief

Thiruvananthapuram, 13 October 2010: A doctor from Bihar who has been one of the longest serving medical practitioners at a Church-run hospital in the state was cremated according to Hindu rites on the hospital premises on Tuesday.

 

 

 
In a classic case of religious harmony, both the Gita and Bible were also read at his funeral. The incident happened at the Pushpagiri Medical College run by the Malankara Catholic Church at Tiruvalla.

 

in Kottayam district. The doctor was Dr B  Brijesh Kumar Singh, 61, an orthopaedic surgeon who served the hospital for 28 years.  In fact, Dr Singh had planned to leave for his native place and was at a hotel near the Kochi international airport from where he was slated to fly out.

 

According to hospital sources, Dr Singh collapsed in his room and passed away after a massive heart attack.  Church spokesperson Rev Fr Thomas Kodinattukunnu said that Singh’s family members enquired whether a Hindu cremation could be possible. “We agreed to do it in the hospital compound itself,’’ he said.

 

His body was cremated at an open place on the premises under the supervision of Hindu priests while many Christian priests led by the diocesan head Archbishop Thomas Mar Coorilos watched the ceremony.

 

“The ashes will now be collected and the family members will take it to his hometown in Bihar,” said the spokesman. Dr Singh is survived by his parents and a daughter.