The last call: When death strikes, this man steps in
Patna
: By day,
Gulab Kumar
tends to rows of books in a well-known shop tucked along Boring Road in Patna's Shri Krishnapuri neighbourhood. At 62, he may look every bit the mild-mannered bookshop assistant, but when the phone rings in times of death or despair, Gulab transforms into something far greater – a
good Samaritan
whose quiet devotion has made him an unsung pillar of support in the city.
"For the last 15 years, I have attended to emergency calls arising from deaths at the homes of my acquaintances in Ashiana, Kachchi Talab and around Boring Road. It gives me immense satisfaction. I feel like it's a call from God," he said.
In a city growing faster than its families, Gulab has become a rare constant. "Families have become small, even very small, and many don't know how to handle
death-related rituals
," he said.
When Kamal Srivastava's wife slipped in the bathroom last month and was later diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage, Gulab got the call.
"She was hospitalised nearby and I provided all assistance. A few days later, I helped shift her home. When she passed away, I made the necessary arrangements for her cremation at Digha Ghat. I have helped in at least three such cases every year. If someone calls in such a situation, how can I refuse?" he said.
His most haunting memory is from 2022, during the peak of the Covid pandemic. Netai Chandra Das, a retired govt employee, was struggling to breathe in his Boring Road flat.
Knowing the end was near, he phoned the bookshop where Gulab works, and asked for him. Atmanand Das, the bookshop's owner, sent Gulab at once.
"When I reached, he was about to die. I took him to police line hospital, but he was declared dead, another victim of the virus. It all happened within half an hour," Gulab said.
Atmanand added, "The fear was so real that only four of us carried his 'arthi' to Bans Ghat – Gulab, our caretaker Deepak, a magazine vendor and I.
No one else came. Can you believe it? Gulab has helped me through the deaths of seven of my own relatives over the years."
Gulab's quiet acts of compassion have become lore among locals. Even Jharna Sharan, the 90-year-old landlady of the building that houses the bookshop, knows him well. A former professor at Magadh Mahila College and a divorcee with no children, she is looked after only by the caretaker Deepak. When Gulab visits, she jokes with a twinkle, "You have helped in the cremation of so many persons. I will see, if you will attend to my body also!"
Hailing from Bharaula Bhatapa Rani village in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district, Gulab came to Patna following his late father, who worked in the forensic science laboratory. But it is in the lives and deaths of others that Gulab has found his quiet calling.
In an age when empathy often comes with conditions, Gulab answers grief's call without question. No headlines, no honours – just the sacred, silent dignity of showing up when it matters most.
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