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In the heart of Davanagere, Karnataka, stands a woman who has turned fear into devotion — Sudharani, known locally as the woman who burned fear itself. For more than a decade, she has carried out one of the most difficult, yet deeply humane tasks imaginable: performing the final rites for over 4,000 people who had no one else left to do it.
At the Vaikuntha crematorium on PB Road, Sudharani works day after day among the pyres — bathing the bodies, arranging the wood, and lighting the fire that returns each soul to the elements. What began as an act of duty has become her life’s purpose.
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Years ago, she witnessed how carelessly some crematorium workers treated the dead — often drunk, indifferent, or simply absent. Unable to bear the indignity, she decided to step in herself. “If not me, then who?” she asked.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when fear of infection stopped even close relatives from claiming bodies, Sudharani never stopped. Wrapped in protective gear, she performed last rites for the unclaimed and forgotten, often staying past midnight to ensure that every soul received a dignified farewell.
“I don’t fear the dead,” she says quietly. “They are just people — someone’s father, someone’s child. They deserve peace.”
Her husband, Siddaramaeshwara, supports her in this mission, serving as a manager at the same cremation trust. Together, they see their work not as a profession, but as a spiritual vow — a promise to treat every life, and every death, with respect.
In a world that turns away from death, Sudharani stands unflinching before it — transforming horror into humanity, and fear into faith.
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