By Navaraj Kattel,Biratnagar, May 17: The sun had barely risen Tuesday morning when Karim Ansari’s mobile rang. He looked at the screen. It was from an unknown number. Yet, without a second thought, he picked it up. The person on the other end asked him if he would take a funeral procession (Malami) to the cremation ghat at 2 pm that day. He agreed, as he always does.
Karim, 37-year-old resident of Biratnagar Metropolitan City–1, owns three buses. Two of them ply the Dharan-Biratnagar route, carrying passengers for a fare, like every other public vehicle. One though, he keeps spare, to carry mourners to the ghats.
In the last three months, Karim has carried 42 funeral processions. But he has not charged a single penny for it. Whether he knows them or not, he never hangs up on anyone and he never refuses any mourner in need.
Karim’s introduction to the transportation business came at the age of 10 when he began working as a conductor in a public vehicle. He wanted to study but life required him to earn and provide. He worked hard, skipped meals, slept in the automobiles he worked in to save money.
Karim’s dedication gradually helped him learn the trade and, with skill and investment, he became an entrepreneur from an employee. But, as his status grew, so did his understanding of the importance of transportation in people’s lives.
So, when he became the owner of three buses, he wanted to use them to help people and the community. However, he did not know how – until, one day, someone flat out asked him to.
That faithful day, a person approached Karim and asked him to rent out one of his vehicles for a funeral procession. Karim agreed and quoted a reasonable price. But, it turned out that the person who came to him was a middleman who charged the grieving family a price much higher than the one asked by Karim so he could pocket a big commission.
This broke Karim’s heart. How could anyone think of gaining profit from people who have just lost a loved one, he thought. Since that day, he has been transporting funeral processions to ghats for free. According to Karim, he also did this to question and discourage those who seek to make money from grief.
“The cremation ghat is not very far from the main Biratnagar market. It is not a distance one should charge money for,” he said. Karim provides his bus to anyone who asks but he does require half an hour’s notice to get it ready.
Karim parks the bus he uses to carry funeral processions near the Biratnagar bus park with a banner reading ‘Free Service for Malami’. The banner also has his personal phone number so that those who need it can call.
Karim, a Muslim by faith, nevertheless understands Hindu customs. He understands that some families feel they and their deceased relatives will be ‘burdened’ if they ride for free. So, he accepts it if they give money. But he never demands it and he does not fix an amount to give. His bus, he says, was, is and always will be free.
– TRN
