Just as wedding planners handle all the arrangements for weddings, the trend of funeral planners is also rapidly growing. This is especially true among NRI families in Punjab, where people are now seeking the help of professional agencies to manage all the preparations related to the last rites.
These agencies provide families with a “one-stop service,” handling everything from decorating the hearse and bier to arranging puja materials, a priest, rituals at the cremation ground, and post-cremation ceremonies. The entire funeral plan is customized according to the family’s wishes and traditions.
Many Families Adopt the New Approach
One prominent family hired a funeral service agency after the death of their elderly member. The agency not only decorated the hearse and the house with flowers but also handled all the arrangements, from designing the coffin to the cremation ground. The luxury coffin cost around 4,000 rupees, with special attention paid to the fabric and decorations.
Similarly, when the father of a Sikh NRI family passed away, the son, who had grown up abroad, was unfamiliar with the local customs. He contacted an agency, which made all the arrangements, including decorating the bier, the final bath, and the electric cremation. Another family, which had later converted to Christianity, expressed a desire to conduct their elder’s final journey in a special way. The agency arranged a purple coffin adorned with velvet fabric, soft pillows, and complete dressing—even making arrangements for the guests attending the funeral procession.
Service providers in this sector say that the demand for such services has increased rapidly in Punjab in the last few years. They say that this trend is spreading among NRI families for two reasons: the influence of foreign culture, where funeral services are common, and the lack of knowledge about Indian customs among people who have grown up abroad.
