To Bury or Not –That Is The Question

“All places are alike, and every earth is fit for burial.” – Christopher Marlowe

Seventy percent (70%) of the population in any place dies without knowing they’ll die a sudden death. They are deprived of being able to choose how to be buried; in traditional caskets on the ground or have their ashes thrown out to the sea. In some countries though, the burial is not an option and cremation is the way to go. This is because of exiting religious beliefs and varying cultures of the place.

People living in democratic countries in Asia are given more room to choose whether to be buried or not. The traditional way is to be lowered on the ground in a casket. But cremation is getting more popular each day as well. For now the middle income earners to rich families avail of this option. One reason is that most families living below the poverty line and on border lines do not have any access of where to go. There are not much crematory services around yet unlike its counterpart.

A cremator is an industrial furnace that is able to generate temperatures of 870-980 degrees Celcius (1600-1800 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Wikipedia. You can just imagine how hot this is (you’ll surely die if you’re not yet dead and mistaken for cremation!). This extreme temperature makes sure the dead body is disintegrated. Cremator fuels used are oil, natural gas, propane and town gas. During the earlier days until the 1960s, coal and coke were used.

Cremators have adjustable control systems to monitor the furnace (too hot or not too hot). And since we live in modern times, they are computer-controlled as well. It is illegal in some places like the US to cremate multiple bodies at a time (just one special body at a time). Cremator sizes are standardized to make room for huge bodies as well as infants. Large cities typically have access to large cremators (as large as 200 kilograms or 440lbs plus range).

Generally, families are not allowed while cremation is going on. But due to religious beliefs and funeral planning, the discharge of bodies through cremation is allowed to be viewed in traditional Hindu and Jain funerals. Since cremation is not an alternative for interment rites, the body is still put in a casket. In the end, it does not matter how it is laid to rest. What matters is how well he lived his life.