Are there still rudaali’s in Rajasthan today? Just out of curiosity, how much do they get paid? Not to sound rude or anything but what ‘type’ of profession is it considered? Is it mostly individuals from so-called “low”-castes who do this? For Hindu funerals in Pakistan, do/did any villages anywhere in Pakistan ever employ rudaali’s?
i dont hv a clue if they still do it …but i would think they might still b doing it in some parts of rajistan. seeing as some still do that “sati” thing.
its really horrible to see people still down in dumps of ignorance in this age… i really liked that movie but i wouldnt watch it again i never knew about it untill i watched that .. that really makes me 
Ishyjan 
Thank you so much for your comments i take it then that you have seen that movie ‘Rudaali’? i saw it yesterday for the first time. man it made me cry. ufffff what a life they led. It made me wonder whether there are still people like that living in that type of lifestyle in Rajasthan… or maybe in Pakistan.
And i wonder what ‘type’ of profession (not to be rude) is it considered… in the movie, they seemed to show that the villagers viewed Sanichari negatively… despite the fact that she was probably the bravest and most hard working out of all of them.
What does a rudaali do?
Saba Baji, A rudaali is a professional mourner, basically someone who is paid to go to someone else’s funeral and cry/mourn. i think it usually happened for funerals of people from “high” classes or castes (like zamindaars); sometimes before their death, they would would make arrangements to have a well-known rudaali come to their funeral ceremony. i am not certain if you have seen that movie/documentary, “Rudaali”, based upon the book by Mahasweta Devi and produced by Kalpana Lajmi. In the movie, they mention ‘matam’ also many times - the rudaali has to attend the funeral ceremony and go through the steps of crying and mourning. i dunno in real life but in the documentary they depict it as the females wearing all-black during the funeral ceremony, keeping their hair open, beating their chests, wailing/crying, and doing a type of mourning ‘dance’. It SORT of reminded me of what happens at Muharram in some cities. In order to have tears for the funeral ceremony, the women sometimes used to put some kind of liquid in their eyes (that used to cause a momentary burning sensation, which would subsequently produce the needed tears).
i don’t know how much they are paid. i don’t think it’s considered a very ‘respectable’ profession (definition of ‘respectable’ is highly subjective), but i have nothing to back that up.
If you haven’t seen the movie, i would STRONGLY recommend it. i found a synopsis of the movie below (it won India’s National Award when it was released):
Professional mourners? God now I've heard it all.
first time iv come across that.
they’re so professional they even mourn on their own funeral!
anyway, I have heard about these people, but I would never ask an unknown person to come and mourn on a funeral, let alone pay that person 
Nescio, Then i think you really have to watch that movie... i think you would find it amazingly interesting. Not only are they paid (they seemed to be paid more than the 'average' bonded labourer), but amongst the "higher" classes/castes, it was actually considered a sign of prestige to have made arrangements for a well-known rudaali at one's funeral.
In our current culture, we can't imagine a person being paid to cry at a complete stranger's funeral.. but i think this practice has been happening for centuries, not just in southeast Asia. Professional mourners were common in Egypt and even in Victorian England (where they were called "mutes").
^yes, i have heard stories about mourners in ancient Egypt: the more mourners, the more it seemes that the dead was a willed/famous person. The number of mourners represented the wealth of the person whop died.
I'll try to get hold of the movie
i didn't know they were called rudaalis, but i have heard of ppl calling these professional mourners at desi funerals back home in pak, though i never saw one...
Nescio,
True; it was believed that the more the mourners, the 'greater' the 'prestige' or 'rank' of the individual.
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Originally posted by ~NiQ@Bi~: *
**i didn't know they were called rudaalis, but i have heard of ppl calling these professional mourners at desi funerals back home in pak, though i never saw one...
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Thank you, Niqabi. That is precisely what i was looking for... just wondering whether this sort of stuff actually occurs or not to this day, in either India or Pakistan.
i asked someone who has spent most of her life in India, and she told me that it's mostly politicians in India who employ rudaali's.
sounds very interesting.... is it avaible at just normal movie places?
nadia, welcome :D
you are wellcome
yeah “Rudaali” dimple kapadia in it…i watched that movie few years back…its really awful … i wonder these kinds of traditionans are kept up by the richies…its sad really how money oriented socities are…i tried to find more info about rudaali when i first watched the movie but i couldnt find anything other than movie previews… its strange really it escaped the western media 
i m more than half convinced its not in pakistan either… otherwise you would hv kown it through media anywhere in the world … we are famous arnt we?..
i have never heard of such thing before
n i have never seen women wearing black either.. all i know if u become a widow , there is a time of “iddat” where women stay home and prays other than that she goes on with her normal life.
since my repleis are deleted, let me ask simple question..
does rudaali have any islamic value?
just asking a question
Mourning with heart piercing vainn, crying and doing so with other people who are mourning the death of same personis not bad culture. It is good culture. bad is when some one close to you die and you have to mourn it alone inside your bedroom and go to work the next morning. I don't know about Rudaali in Rajsthan but in Punjab women do mourn somewhat similarily...usually a senior lady cries a vainn(something mournfull and poetic about the death...or rememering the dead person) and some women with age get so good they can make pathar dill people cry by their vainns. If I am not wrong there used to be some particularly caste whose women used to lead such mourning in Punjab....nayee/raja's wife, also know as raani..or was it Mirasi's wife....not much in practice anymore.
BTW it was not rich exploiting the poor...most of these people in villages were all poor...and mourning was done on poor's death also.
Sadzzz, Yep it should be… it’s a bit of an old movie, maybe 1970s, so try an Indian store that rents out movies from that decade. i hope you find it. If you do watch it, i would really appreciate your letting me know what you thought of it… Just out of curiosity..i would love to hear your opinions regarding the movie/documentary.
Niqabi, Thank you
Ishyjan, That is the crux of the point. Remember how she was working with her son in the stone quarry? Beating those stones? And contrast that with the zamindar’s estates… and the amount of water that he was wasting, remember, for the washing of his clothes.
SuroorCa, Interesting point.. hm. i thought white was supposed to be the traditional colour for mourning - atleast in India. However, in the documentary they showed black. i am not certain why.
Anwaar Qureshi, With all due respect to yourself (sincerely)…i was not aware that Islam forbade us to learn about diverse customs around the world. Is one to understand that learning about different cultures and customs is analogous to committing an act that goes against Islamic principles? It is the same pursuit of knowledge that Islam has made incumbent upon everyone, males and females.
With the UTMOST respect to yourself, i will worry about my faith amidst the belief that Allah alone will judge me. i would appreciate others not questioning my motives/intentions for seeking knowledge; only Allah can read my niyats, no one else.