A day with the dead

On the occasion of All Souls Day on November 2, loved ones were seen tending to graves and decorating them with flowers at cemeteries across Goa. Bereaved families dedicated the day in prayer and remembered their loved ones. The day commenced with churches holding solemn masses, where the faithful participated in special services held once a year.
“We lost our mother this April and we miss her a lot.Every November 2, we come to the cemeteries and pray for the dead, over the last year we have lost a lot of friends, relatives and even neighbours. Of course, we pray for their souls regularly but during this time we pay special attention,” says Maria Fernandes, from Margao.
Though many families have gone green this year, Maurice Dias, from Vasco, tells us: “For the last few years now we try to keep my mother’s grave as green as possible. Instead of buying readymade flower arrangements from florist stores, we use flowers and decorative leaves from our garden to decorate the grave. It is also because my mom loved
gardening and experimented with new plants. Even for her birthday, her favourite gift was receiving potted plants. For two years, we have used flowers from the garden on her grave.”