A son’s harrowing tale…

On an August morning in 1982, Dr Ramnik Parekh reached the J.J. Hospital mortuary to collect his departed father’s body and bring it home so the family could mourn and perform the last rites. The tragic circumstances of his death by car accident, not far from the family home on Altamount Road, further marred an already solemn day.

Dr Parekh was handed over an autopsied, barely covered body. He immediately purchased sheets from a nearby shop to cover him. Then came the issue of transport – In those days, dilapidated ambulances could be hired outside the mortuary, usually at an exorbitant price, to carry corpses. On the way home, the ambulance came to a sudden halt, it could go no further. Dr Parekh proceeded to return to the mortuary and hire another vehicle. In the middle of Nagpada junction, the late Hiralal Parekh’s body was transferred to another ambulance and somehow brought back to their home.

This traumatic experience left an indelible impression on Dr Parekh, then a middle-class family physician. He knew his father and his bereaved family deserved much better, as did so many others. Sadly, at the time he lacked the wherewithal to do something about it.   

Many years and many funerals later, with every visit to the local crematoria and hearing accounts of similar, equally distressing journeys, Dr Parekh’s own painful memories continued to haunt him. Finally in 2008, along with his siblings, the Parekh family decided to take action by launching Antim Sanskar Seva, a service designed to facilitate dignified funerals for local Mumbai families.