I am a master in India

Chapter 157 Funeral
“Ron! Do you know about your factory?” Uncle Prash stammered, his expression excited.

“What’s wrong with my factory?” Ron asked curiously.

"Your factory is on TV!" Ratan shouted.

"Ah, indeed," Ron said, unsure of what to say.

“Sul Electric Appliances, what a great name! I recognized it at a glance last night!” Prash’s pride was comparable to that of his son Ratan at his wedding.

Their new TV just arrived yesterday. It's the only all-India TV channel, so you don't have to worry about which channel to watch.

Then, around 8 p.m., the advertisement for Suer Appliances started playing on time.

The Ratan family watched with great interest, and they even made a couple of jokes, thinking that "Sur" was a coincidence.

When he saw the water-cooled air conditioner, Ratan realized that Ron had mentioned it to him before.

So in the morning, the father and son rushed to the city to find Ron, even turning down a hemp deal in the process.

But by then Ron had already arrived with his men, and after wandering around for most of the day, they finally found the film set.

“My God, Ron, you did it! Your father will be so proud of you.”

For a rural landowner like Prash, appearing on television was a tremendous honor.

“Suer Electric Appliances has only just been established and can’t be considered a large enterprise.” Ron said modestly.

“When you go back to Mumbai, Ratan will go with you and help you,” Prash decided immediately.

“What?” Ron was stunned.

“You need help; when doing things in India, the whole family has to work together.”

Ratan did not object to Prash's proposal; he considered it a matter of course.

When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and the dog ascend to heaven.

That's how it is in India; if someone becomes successful, they are obligated to provide a good life for their family.

Ron's factory being featured on television clearly means he's "attained enlightenment."

Ratan immediately gave up on persuading Ron to grow hemp at home with him, and instead quickly prepared to go to Mumbai to help him manage the factory.

Ron was shocked by their decision; it was so hasty, it was like playing house.

“Okay, I do need help, but not in Mumbai. Remember the branch factory I mentioned?”

“You want land, right? No problem, wherever you want, I’ll take care of it,” Prash said, making all the promises.

"Let's talk about this in a couple of days. I need to get things settled on the theater side first."

"Okay, I'll call Adiya and the others then, and see if we can be of any help."

The Ratan father and son came excitedly, and left excitedly as well.

They were very excited. After so many years of silence in the countryside, it seemed that the Su family was finally about to produce a golden phoenix.

They will spare no effort to help Ron reach even greater heights, so that the entire family will benefit.

Ron sighed as he watched the two figures disappear. India's clan system was even more absurd than that of China.

When people help you, everyone does their best. Similarly, if you live a good life, you shouldn't be ungrateful.

You can't even refuse this enthusiasm, because the values ​​of the whole society recognize this bond. If you refuse or ignore your family, you'll easily be condemned.

Fortunately, Ron needs the support of his family back home to open a branch factory in Uttar Pradesh.

He can't manage many things on his own.

However, before all that, there is something even more important to do.

His parents' ashes should return to the embrace of the Ganges.

This is a troublesome matter, more troublesome than he thought.

According to Hindu tradition, after a loved one dies, male relatives carry the body to the Ganges River for cremation so that the deceased can ascend to the Pure Land.

Since only Ron's parents' ashes remain, the cremation step can be skipped.

However, as arranged by the family, there is still an extremely luxurious rattan bed to hold the ashes.

Ron and Ratan carried the front, while several uncles carried the back. The rattan bed was wrapped in gorgeous men's and women's clothing and covered with rose petals and jasmine wreaths.

Several aunties walked along clapping their hands, chanting, "Shiva, your name is the only truth!"

They visited temple after temple and worshipped deities one after another, but lingered the longest at the temple dedicated to the sun god Surya.

They walked through alleyways between temples and shops, and before they even saw the Ganges, Ron could smell the stench of rotting corpses coming from the river.

He raised his voice: "The only truth!", then choked and couldn't speak.

The sound of chopping wood echoed from the banks of the Ganges. A wooden platform had been erected on the cremation stone by the river, piled high with logs, and several people were chopping wood with axes.

The cremation platform led all the way to the river, and it was piled high with firewood for cremation. When they arrived there, four bodies were being cremated on the steps.

The Sur family were Brahmins, so of course they didn't have to wait in line; they had already arranged for the largest and most impressive stone platform in the river.

A specially hired Brahmin priest was waiting for them. After a long prayer, Ron began to scatter the ashes into the Ganges River under the priest's guidance.

A small white island in the middle of the river glitters in the sunlight.

Flocks of small boats, laden with tourists, row toward the island, a perfect spot for photographing the Ganges River.

Tourists from all over the world flocked to the holy city, having long heard of its fame and been curious about the Ganges cremation.

Photography is prohibited at cremations, but these tourists, unaware of the rules, kept snapping photos. The servants of the Sue family, who were already waiting at various locations, immediately approached them and demanded that the photos be deleted.

Some foreigners wanted to argue, but after seeing all sorts of Nepalese kukri, they all obediently took out their film.

After making a few inquiries, I learned that this was a local wealthy family holding a water burial ceremony.

They might make sarcastic or mocking remarks in their hearts, but seeing the densely packed servants nearby, they wisely kept quiet.

Uttar Pradesh is not Mumbai, especially the Varanasi area, which is known as the "Crazy East".

Outside the city, the land here is blood-red.

Ron paid no attention to any of that; his gaze was drawn to the stone platform beside him.

That area was also piled high with cremation logs, and the river kept washing over the banks.

There was a huge mound of black earth, covered with jasmine, rose petals, fragments of silk, and charred bones.

A Shar Pei sniffed among flower petals, strips of cloth, and bones, constantly digging for food.

Well, Ron suddenly felt relieved that all that was left of his parents was their ashes.

He simply couldn't accept this strange cremation, let alone the holy river.

Filming for "In Praise of the Mother" has begun, with director Schiff shooting the scenery first, followed by the actors.

In his words, this makes it easier for the crew to get into character, and a team of more than forty people also needs time to gel.

But since it was Mary and her team's first time producing, they lacked experience and didn't have enough staff.

Director Schiff wanted to create a 13-meter-tall statue of Durga to feature frequently in the film.

Most of the crew went to help, and in the end, the male lead, Lanka, personally took charge of production management, holding a sign and helping with the clapperboard.

"Why make such a big statue?" Ron asked, puzzled.

“Because the movie will first be shown in the countryside, there will inevitably be a lot of publicity for the new goddess statue.” Schiff knew this perfectly well.

Since it's a religious film, it naturally needs to heavily emphasize religion. To get rural Indians into the cinema, you have to include plenty of things that interest them in the film.

"This must have cost a lot of money, right?" Ron couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the busy crowd.

Although the new statue was made of plaster, the materials were still an expense, not to mention that artisans from the nearby market were hired to help.

“It won’t cost much,” Schiff said smugly. “Those craftsmen are all devotees of Endurance and don’t want payment.”

After filming is completed, the statue will be donated to the temple; the abbot has promised us that he will not charge any location fees.

Look, this is what a qualified low-budget film director should be like. Ron really appreciates Schiff's awareness of saving money.

In fact, not only Schiff, but even that local producer went to great lengths to save money.

The film tells the story of a vegetarian goddess, and the cast and crew ate only vegetables.

Every day, the crew's menu consisted of nothing but potatoes. They ate potatoes at every meal, and even put potatoes in their yogurt.

Lanka, who was already fed up with the situation, tried various methods, including direct and indirect approaches, and even wrote satirical poems. However, the producer only blamed him for being full of complaints.

Some of the crew members were seasoned film crew members and didn't blush at all when fighting over food.

In Sri Lanka's words, "They swarmed in, grabbing four or five pancakes at a time, scooping up all the remaining vegetables, and then hiding away with their plates."

We had no choice but to wait at the back of the line, hoping they would bring out more dishes.

The result, of course, was no. The shameless Indian natives would never queue up like the rich second-generation Sri Lankans.

Mary couldn't stand it anymore and was going to improve the food for the crew, but Ron stopped her.

If the budget is three million, then it's three million. We can't spoil their appetite. Otherwise, they'll definitely treat you like a lamb to the slaughter when we invest in you again.

The filming was still going on here, but the costume designer caused another problem.

“What happened?” Ron asked the producer.

"We didn't have enough clothes prepared, so we'll have to change our look for the next scene."

Why not prepare in advance?

"The budget isn't enough," the producer said, shrugging.

“Do you remember the guesthouse you stayed at?” Ron suddenly had a bright idea.

"What?" the producer asked, puzzled.

"When I arrived, I saw that there was a clothing and accessories fair going on over there. You can send someone to pick out suitable clothes now, and then return them after the photoshoot."

The producer was stunned. "What about the next few days?"

"We change the people who go every day, since there are a lot of people in the crew anyway."

There are always more solutions than problems. Open your mind and this little thing is no problem at all.

Five minutes later, the producer and a few people boarded a bus and headed to the city center. The crew also rented an old bus for convenient daily filming.

300 rupees a day is a good deal. Except for the fact that you can't drive very fast, you can easily carry 40 or 50 people.

"Mira, let's go eat Indian basil tonight." Ron sneaked off to find the female lead.

Urmila wanted to politely decline, but her stomach started rumbling loudly.

She gets tired of eating potatoes every day.

(End of this chapter)