Jitender Singh Shunty
Shunty used to be a carefree man. He belonged to a well-off family which ran a thriving transport business. But something suddenly snapped inside him one day when he saw a man stealing wood from a burning pyre at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat cremation ground. Shocked, Shunty confronted him. Weeping uncontrollably, the middle-aged man said that he had lost his wife in an accident and didn’t have enough money to perform the last rituals. He had no choice but to steal wood. “I was stunned. I never knew this could happen to human beings in our society. Later, I came to know that there were people who often left a dead body unattended,” recalls Shunty.
Having traveled to India, witnessed a public funeral procession and visited the riverside location of many such funeral pyres, I was touched to learn of the story of Jitender Singh Shunty from Idealist.org. It is good to be reminded that people of such considerable compassion and committment exist in this troubled world. I was fortunate enough to meet similar folks during my trip. People like Biplab & Sumita Chatterjee as well as Ravi & Neena Dugal. It reminds me that I need to post my travel log of that trip.
