Bhogi Pongal

Bhogi is a festival celebrated on first day of Pongal. On bhogi, people clean their house and all the waste and unwanted things are set on fire. Lets burn unwanted with minimum quantity. Have awareness to save the Earth. Can you imagine some people will take the opportunity to burn rubbish, broken furniture and rubber tyres which emits lot of smoke which affects the environment. I’m not against Bhogi. But at the same time, I say NO to bhogi every year.
On the day of Bhogi I would like to share an interesting article which I came across few years ago. It’s not related to Bhogi or pongal but take it as general knowledge to save the EARTH.

Millions of people die each day on this planet. there is one thing that all funerals have in common: the alarming amount of wood used in the pyres or the coffins. When the body is burnt along with kilos of wood and embalming fluids, an astonishing amount of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and acids are produced, making the carbon footprint bigger and darker.

Green burial is a process wherein a body is returned to the soil in its most natural form sans any coffin or embalming agents. Manufacturing coffins requires cutting down of a large number of trees and the embalming fluids seep into the soil and pollute the water thus disturbing the ecosystem. The body may at the most be wrapped in a bio-degradable material like a sheet or a shroud.

A green cemetery is a place where tombstones are replaced by trees and a forest is born, complete with wildlife, birds and flowers. Nature takes it own course and your loved ones’ body is extended towards a noble cause making them immortal. Since a large chunk of forest area has been destroyed by human encroachment and consumption, green cemeteries come as a welcome change as they create miniature forest ecosystems within the cities and detoxify the atmosphere. The forest needs no maintenance or expense as it thrives on a soil made fertile by decaying organic matter.

It is understandable and obviously expected that after years of following conventional cremation and burial rites; some may not be open this tradition breaking idea. However, just as we are coming to accept organ donation, this concept too, is nothing out of the blue. In the former case, we are helping a human being while in the latter, we are helping nature. The cause is as noble, if not more, that the act of donating organs of your loved ones after their demise. Just like the donated organs are mentioned in the deceased’s will, so can the willingness to undergo a Green Burial. Choosing a Green Burial and discussing it with your family saves your loved ones from a lot of difficulties and hassles of making expensive and time-consuming arrangements for your last rites in their hour of grief. Life may often not give us an opportunity to prove our worth, but death certainly does! It is just a matter of “will”…

I’m not sure if they have such burial in Malaysia, but if they do, I will never hesitate to go for it. Because EDWARD ABBEY Says "One's death should mean something."