A Peaceful Grieving Place for Bereaved Families
Jayaratne Group launches new venture to accommodate funerals
It is no secret that as Colombo continues to develop at a rapid pace, land is becoming scarce in the city. Living in the city, you often do not have the luxury of a wide open space to accommodate a crowd. While the lack of such space is normally not a deterrent for life in Colombo, when a loved one departs from your life, it becomes difficult to hold their final rites at home where they lived and laughed.
That is why the service that funeral parlours offer is important. Funeral undertakers have been offering a silent, but much appreciated service, and funeral parlours are a place where you, your family and friends can offer your final goodbyes to your recently departed ones in a busy city. While no one likes to think of it, death is a certain fact of life, and through the years, the Jayaratne Group has introduced a number of new services and accommodations so that the living can host the funerals of the deceased in peace.
Their latest venture, ‘The Restpect’, a final resting place for the deceased is, according to the tagline, ‘a funeral home away from home’. While the main Jayaratne Funeral Parlours outlet located in front of the Borella Cemetery offer 5 parlours for families to hold the funerals of their loved ones, The Restpect, offers something beyond a funeral parlour.
With an ample parking lot covering 20 perches, and a renovated bungalow offering space to host two funerals in tandem, it offers the intimacy connected with a funeral held in a house, rather than an impersonal parlour. Furthermore, should there be need the entire bungalow can be taken for a single funeral. The viewing time is from 8 a.m., and can extend upto 10.30 p.m. so that mourners can pay their respects without having to step away from their busy lives.
The separate spaces come with their own kitchenette, bathroom, and a washroom, so that the family can also refresh themselves. In addition, at this new location, the Jayaratne Group offers the traditional ‘mala batha’ through an affiliated catering company. There is also a flower shop, so that mourners can purchase a bouquet of flowers, or a wreath to pay their respects with.
The company also plans to play a video of the deceased person consisting of photos and short clips of his life, so that mourners can celebrate his achieve- ments and triumphs in life.
Mr Hasanga Jayaratne- company Director disclosed that Jayaratne Group hopes to build a high rise in the same location in the future so that space can be offered to more than two families. Adding on, Mr Gamini Jayaratne- Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of Jayaratne Group stated that the Group plans to include an auditorium in the new building so that families can also hold the religious rites in the same place.
A family-owned venture, Jayaratne Funeral Directed was founded by late Mr K. G. A. Jayaratne, who began his career as a florist in the 1950’s. What began as a small venture eventually bloomed into a funeral service in 1967, at Dean’s Road at the request of families who were concerened with the lack of space for a funeral even then. The present Jayaratne main outlet was opened in 1987 as a limited liability company.
At present, there are five Jayaratne branches in several locations, and the Group is headed by late Mr Jayaratne’s son, Gamini Jayaratne as the Group CEO. Under his direction, the Group introduced Jayaratne VIP Services (Pvt) Ltd, the first of its kind in the country offering funeral limousines and the like to the Sri Lankans, elevating the services offered by funeral directors in the country.
The company has also imported South Asia’s only, top-of-the-range, Mercedes Benz Toska hearse to the country last year. They also recently invited a top foreign embalmer, Mr Philippe Dubresson qualified in the UK, Australia, France, and America to train the embalmers in the company.