'Graveyard is full'

Parts of Hosur Road still remain relatively quiet and undisturbed, mainly because of the dead, whose bones are resting in the different cemeteries. Marked by the beliefs and practices of their respective customs and faiths, they are spaces that are important in different contexts. For Christians, whose belief system largely involves burial after death, the reality is that these old cemeteries are rapidly running out of space.

A peep into the Roman Catholic Cemetery is an interesting experience for most. The old graves with their stone crosses, monuments, carved angels and gargoyles on marble pedestals stand calmly amidst the trees and shrubbery. Their inscriptions may be worn with age but are nonetheless a reminder of lives once lived and people gone, but not forgotten. Newer graves make their presence felt, raising their heads amid the old timers with lavish marble decorations and fading remains of floral tributes. Others have simple headstones, crosses and inexpensive painted epitaphs. A part of the cemetery in the past was reserved for children.

The graves here are particularly poignant because of the size of the small slab that marks the spot of a small coffin and the touching inscriptions. Old British soldiers lie here too marked by blank headstones. An old French Count is buried in one corner as is a young martyr, who died while playing the church organ. This Roman Catholic cemetery is under the care of St Patrick’s Church and has over 4,000 graves within its grounds. Prakash, the vigilant caretaker, keeps vandals, lovebirds looking for a quiet spot or trouble-makers firmly at bay. He is also the keeper of a well-worn register of carefully maintained records of the people whose remains lie here. 

“The very first burial here was that of a Bridget Luxshma in 1871,” he says. Today, the cemetery is quickly running out of space and there is barely enough left for 160 more graves. Keeping the future in mind, the church has built marble vaults along the inner walls where one can inter the ashes of loved ones after cremation. Till date there have been only a couple of takers as the traditional form of burial is still preferred. People are also encouraged to opt for tiered burials with one grave holding upto three coffins. In that case the gravesite will go down to at least 11 feet. A concrete slab is laid to support the coffin and each coffin comes with its own chamber. Two-tiered sites go down to eight feet. You can also have just your ashes in an urn buried in the grave of a family member which is easier,” adds Prakash.

 “Old cemeteries are markers of our history. They are links to family and tell us a great deal about ourselves culturally and socially. They provide invaluable lung spaces for the City. Brig. Donald White was responsible for getting the cemetery spruced up years ago and also for paving the way for its present well maintained state by roping in the army. His sister, who died at the age of nine, is buried among the children’s graves and Don himself, along with his wife Jennifer are interred here too,” says Sydney Mendens, a member of St Patrick's Parish, who takes an active interest in the upkeep of the place.