Book: THE CORPSE COLLECTOR: A TRUE STORY

Authors: Vinu P and Niyas Kareem

Published by: Juggernaut

Price: Rs 699

Vinu P is a corpse collector, a shavamvari. It is a moniker that wreaked havoc with his life and got him thrown out of society. It started when he was all but 15. His friend, Mithun, went missing for three days. The search went on until a group of men called “masters” found his body in a river. When the masters asked for an extra hand, people flinched, covered their noses with towels and looked the other way. Dressed in school uniform, tears in eyes, only Vinu jumped in.

That was the day this profession chose him. When people die unnatural deaths, and their corpses lie forsaken, floating under a bridge or scattered in pieces over a railway track, the corpse collectors are called in. With not so much as a protective gear or a mask, they go forward, taking the bodies to the nearest hospital. Over the years, Vinu has handled over 1,500 bodies, often conducting last rites for bodies that are abandoned by their loved ones, renting out freezers for those that go unclaimed for days. It is a profession that society cannot do without. Yet, simply by virtue of his profession, Vinu becomes untouchable.

Under the protective shelter of his masters and, later, with the help of the Kerala Police, Vinu slowly finds his footing in the world. In fact, Vinu testifies to two truths in his life — death and the Kerala Police. The police guard him against harassment, get him vaccinated, buy him an ambulance; they not only keep him employed but also respect him for it.

In his memoir, translated by Ministhy S. and co-authored with the journalist, Niyas Kareem, Vinu appeals to readers’ compassion and trusts them to rise beyond prejudice and the scorn that have plagued his life.

Like all professions, that of a corpse collector’s too demands a certain aptitude. Vinu flaunts it proudly. He writes how doctors need to run tests in the laboratory to determine the time and the cause of death, something that he can determine with near accuracy.

On the surface, The Corpse Collector is a memoir. But as you delve deeper, the narrative leans heavily into the trope of the ‘chosen hero’. But Vinu is not looking for a hero’s welcome back into society. All he wants is to be seen and known for the work he does.