I'd wager it is more than just an indian thing. Most cultures have the body be viewable by people for last rites before they are interred or cremated. But if an

I'd wager it is more than just an indian thing. Most cultures have the body be viewable by people for last rites before they are interred or cremated. But if any part or the whole body is going to be donated, the body has to be worked on right away or kept in the morgue, which is incompatible with a public viewing. I speak from recent personal experience. My father (Indian/Hindu) passed away a few months ago. He had registered with a medical college "to use his body for science". He was a devout Hindu, which made this extremely unusual. And being an atheist and dispassionate about death myself, I was most chuffed and proud of him. When he passed away in the hospital, the med school sent their ambulance and transferred him to the school's morgue. That is when I was struck by how much the lack of last rites mean to people. Many friends and relatives were left feeling adrift, that they didn't have time to say bye. It was too sudden, even for me. You know there is no life in that body, but the thought of him as a cadaver, with med students using him to learn suturing or surgeries or whatever is deeply unsettling. We did have a memorial service later on which was cathartic for all, but it is not at all common in India. For those of you who are reading this and are from Bangalore, I cannot recommend MS Ramaiah hospital highly enough. They showed such kindness and respect to us and to my father that I never felt my father was being "used". I recommend considering body donation for yourself and urging others to consider it. Registered donors get free medical checkups for life! https://www.msrmc.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Donor_Program.pdf https://www.msrmc.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Donor_Pro...