Cemetery in Park Town to honour grave diggers

St. Patrick's Cemetery is near Central Railway Station. | Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ B A bunch of grave diggers attached to St Patrick’s Cemetery on Pallavan Salai in Park Town will be in the spotlight at the Sunday morning service of the church on November 1. As in the previous year, the church will be having a small event to honour cemetery workers, who face social stigma from society and their work often goes unrecognised.The Sunday before All Souls’ Day (November 2) is chosen, as many Christians visit the grave of their dear ones to offer prayers. Last year, the workers were seated in the front pew during the service, and Father Prakash, who is in charge of the cemetery and is also the parish priest of Our Lady of Dolours Chapel, gave a short speech acknowledging the role of the people who keep the cemetery clean. They were honoured with shawls, given new clothes as gifts and some cash rewards.“The cemetery workers were very happy, as they never got such recognition,” says the priest that many want to be treated with some respect. This year, there will be 11 workers who will be honoured, six are grave diggers and the rest are temporary workers hired in the month of October to clean the cemetery of weeds and take up other maintenance work.Those managing cemeteries know the challenge in finding people to maintain cemeteries. Checking the growth of weeds is one of the most difficult tasks.One family engaged in the work at St Patrick’s Cemetery has been doing it for a few generations.The cemetery, which is more than 200 years old, has 3000 plots/graves, some dating back to the 1800s, and does not need grave diggers on a daily basis. Depending on a requirement, they are summoned. In the last four years, the church has hiked the pay for these workers by five times.Other initiativesQuibble Island cemetery honours its workers during Christmas time. A family is responsible for the upkeep of the place, and during special events additional manpower is engaged to spruce up the cemetery. The All Souls’ Day prayers will start around 4.30 p.m.The Madras Cemeteries Board Trust, which manages the cemeteries in Kilpauk and Kasimedu, engages the service of seven people to maintain the place. Besides a monthly salary, they get extra for every grave they dig. During Christmas they are invited for a feast and given a bonus. Published - October 31, 2026 09:52 pm IST