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Ramesh Menon in Gwalior
There is nervous activity in the royal crematorium of the Scindias in Gwalior. None of the workers, now busy here making arrangements for the funeral of Madhavrao Scindia, had imagined their Maharaja would die so young.
But there is a strange sense of peace too. The environs are such. The foliage is thick and the sound of chirping birds is soothing. This is one of the largest royal crematoriums in India. Its circumference is around 2.5 km and the area is spread across 35 acres.
Temples of Lord Vishnu, Ram and Krishna stand majestically at short distances from each other. In front of each temple is a chetri, a memorial for various members of the royal family who are no more. There is one for Jivaji Maharaj, Madhavrao's father and one for Gajraraja Scindia, his grandmother.
Masons are erecting a large platform where Madhavrao's funeral pyre would be lit. This platform is exactly 100 feet from where he had lit his mother's pyre nine months ago. That spot now has a rough cement structure. Soon a chetri would be built here, marble for which is being brought from Rajasthan.
Vimalbai Sonalkar, who tends the area where Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia was cremated, is inconsolable. Fighting back her tears, she says: "None of us can believe what has happened. Maharajaji was supposed to come and pay homage at his mother's chetri on September 27 at 5 pm. He never came. Had he come, we would not have seen this tragedy happen."
There are hundreds of workers here making final arrangements for the funeral. Huge powerful lights have been put up. The work will continue through the night.
A bulldozer is at work levelling the land around the spot where the funeral pyre will be lit. Dozens of workers are putting up sheds to seat VIPs.
Some workers are carting huge logs of wood to erect barricades. H B Singh, the manager, is worried whether the barricades would be able to hold the crowds back.
Government officers flit in and out. Gwalior Municipal Commissioner Rakesh Shrivastava says around 200,000 mourners are expected on Thursday.
Designer Rajiv Sethi, who was close to Madhavrao, is spending time examining every detail. There are going to be around 7,000 security men overseeing the funeral.
When she was alive, the Rajmata knew where she would be cremated. The area for her samadhi was designated when she was around 60 years old.
But no such arrangement was made for Madhavrao. Nobody ever imagined he would depart so suddenly.
Death in the Afternoon: The Complete Coverage
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