His mission is to send bodies home
Year of giving: Meet the Indian man who has helped repatriate 4,000 bodies
It was in the summer of 1982 that Vidhyadharan Ereuthinad landed in the UAE from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, a southern state in India. Within one year, he found his true calling in his life. Since then Vidhyadharan has dedicated his life to serving the mankind. And his service is free, for he helps with repatriation of dead bodies. The number stands at 4,000 bodies repatriated to India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Back home, he was a farmer but in the UAE, he ended up doing odd jobs. He found his true calling when one of his relatives died and the body got stuck for a month due to paperwork and procedural delays. The incident and experience shook Vidhyadharan.
“A person lands here with expectations of a family riding on him. Not only is he no more but his family has to wait for a month or more to get his dead body. I couldn’t stand that and started helping. It’s not about how much money goes out of pocket but a person’s intent to help,” said the man working as a school driver.
He handles cases in Sharjah and northern emirates of Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain.
Interestingly, Vidhyadharan is 62-years-old and still single.
“I don’t get time to think about myself, forget marriage. I am happy living for others and that’s my big satisfaction. I have helped my sisters and brother who settled down in Kerala,” he said.
It was a difficult start for him as he did not have any contacts and raising money was an issue while sending bodies back.
“Back then, paper works used to take a week. Now, I can send the body home in a day, provided it is a natural death and we obtain a death certificate on time.”
Talking about procedures, he said: “Paper work and procedures involve visits to hospital, police station, court, airport, consulate and embalming centre. There are at least 10-14 offices that have to be covered.”
Vidhyadharan has a core team who help him in his efforts to help the poor. “Sajad Nattika, Rafeeq, Mahroofh and Basheer take care of hospital procedures; Mohammed Abdullah Kazi, Munseer, Mohamed and Iqbal at the mortuary; Thauheef at the Indian Consulate; and Sudharshan Attingal is a main supporter. They help us to get the body home in a day; raising funds and getting support from all quarters.”
‘I feel heartbroken at times’
Sometimes, he will be on road for days. There are days when Vidhyadharan has slept on mpty stomach as he had to run around all day. He also has to manage his daily job as a driver.
Vidhyadharan is said to have helped with the repatriation of 4,000 dead bodies. “It’s much more than this in last 34 years. The people I have helped are so poor, I feel heartbroken seeing their plight.”
His efforts have been recognised by many Indian social and cultural associations. He currently serves as the vice-president of Indian Association Umm Al Quwain.
Yet this camera-shy person hasn’t got a single photo to show for all these years of toil. “I can’t click photographs in mortuary or running in ambulances.”
Vidhyadharan does not believe in showmanship or being in limelight. He is a true son of the soil who donates blood every six months. So, when do you rest? “My phone keeps on ringing. There’s no time to rest but only once,” Vidhyadharan said, with a laugh.
A word for Indian mission
According to Vidhyadharan, his efforts to send the bodies to India has never been a smooth affair.
Khaleej Times asked him, so, where do you find the biggest hindrance?
“It’s from Indian Consulate. I need to go only once to any other embassy or consulate be it Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Philippines or Afghanistan. However, with the Indian Consulate, there are two rounds, for passport cancellation and then after body embalming. I go there with court papers but still they will have many doubts. I would have visited Indian Consulate at least 8,000 times for paperwork.”
Even if deaths happen in any northern emirate, he finds it convenient sending body from Dubai Airport. “There we can get all done in the fastest possible way.”
He also pointed out Sharjah and northern Emirates do not have a mandatory health insurance policy. This at times adds to Vidhyadharan’s work. “Last week, there was a case where Dh50 to 60,000 bill was pending due to lack of life insurance cover. I had a hard time arranging that amount and getting the body released.” In the Year of Giving, Vidhyadharan urges the Indian Consulate to help in such cases.