Death Adorned with Life

Have you ever felt the sensation of awe indeed? The South Park Street Cemetery in Kolkata is the perfect and ideal place to arouse such emotions. Established in 1767, it is an admixture of the Gothic and the Indo-Saracenic style.

The moment you step in here, a peculiar feeling that is a blend of utmost respect for the departed persons and a kind of slight fear that their souls are still there will gradually creep into your mind.

Before entering the burial ground, the security told us to submit the bags for the time being for the sake of checking with an inaudible voice. Thereafter, when nobody heard him, he started shouting at us. Interestingly, when he came to know that the visitors were from the press, his shouting voice turned into the sweetest melody like requests. What a rapid change! Then a perfect guide was found.

Kalachand Gomasta, a resident of Khardah, has been working in the graveyard for so many years. Escorting all of us was truly a source of sheer delight for him. He said, “There were 1625 tombs previously. Many of them have got destroyed. Now there are only 967 graves remaining.”

He was the guide to show the oldest grave of Mrs. Sarah Pearson (1768). He also pointed out the remarkable tombs of Sir Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, Sir William Jones and so on.

When he let us see the grave of Mr. Edward Cornwallis Wilmot who passed away at the age of 19 years and three months only, and that of a six month old baby, it became too much to bear.

Abruptly, Gopali Madam drew our attention, “Look, there’s a sprout germinating from that tomb. It is a perfect symbol of life from death. My God! What a novelty!”

However, lack of maintenance has made most of the epitaphs illegible. Still, there was a light of hope. One of the workers, a dweller of Shantipur, said, “Eighteen to nineteen of the graves will be renovated.”

The creaking sound of our shoes, the cawing of the crows and the utmost serenity of the place added to the eerie atmosphere. The paths were somewhere full of grasses, somewhere they were filled with rocks.

It was distinctly visible that the dazzling sunbeams were peeping through the canopy of the green leaves. It suddenly made all realize that the source of life had entered the land of death.

Wherever there is life, there is death, and vice versa. Likewise, the South Park Street Cemetery, a land of demise is adorned with the lights of life and warmth.