Laser lights and music - you've urned it
Source: Agencies |
May 18, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DEATH need not be a grim affair, especially for the living, and at a new cemetery in Singapore, the deceased can depart in rock-concert style.
Unlike most traditional Buddhist funeral ceremonies that follow cremation, there is no incense and no monks offering prayers at the Nirvana Memorial Garden, where the urns holding the remains of the dead are stored.
Instead, curtains draw automatically to reveal the deceased's urn which is placed atop a pedestal, machine-generated smoke fills the prayer hall and a booming recorded voice, accompanied by chants, speaks words of comfort and talks about death.
The remembrance garden boasts a US$2 million sound and light system. Its resident Buddha statue pulsates gently with LED lights and, as a final touch, a ray of bright white light shines on the urn of the deceased symbolizing the ascent to heaven.
"This is just 60 percent of what we can offer," said Jessie Ong, who works for Nirvana Memorial, the company that runs the cemetery. "We are still fine tuning the laser lights."
Most crypts are dark, eerie places, with floors littered with incense ash and urns piled high to the ceiling in tiny pigeonholes, each adorned with a picture of the deceased.
But in Nirvana Memorial, luxury and space are aplenty.
"This is not a place for people to come only once a year to visit their parents or relatives, we want to create an environment to encourage them to come as often as possible," said Jeff Kong, director of Nirvana Memorial Singapore.
The so-called "six star" vault is Singapore's first luxury final resting place and the brainchild of Malaysian-based NV Multi Corp which has other similar projects in Southeast Asia.
Buddhism is the most popular religion in Singapore, with over 40 percent of the population believers.
Unlike most traditional Buddhist funeral ceremonies that follow cremation, there is no incense and no monks offering prayers at the Nirvana Memorial Garden, where the urns holding the remains of the dead are stored.
Instead, curtains draw automatically to reveal the deceased's urn which is placed atop a pedestal, machine-generated smoke fills the prayer hall and a booming recorded voice, accompanied by chants, speaks words of comfort and talks about death.
The remembrance garden boasts a US$2 million sound and light system. Its resident Buddha statue pulsates gently with LED lights and, as a final touch, a ray of bright white light shines on the urn of the deceased symbolizing the ascent to heaven.
"This is just 60 percent of what we can offer," said Jessie Ong, who works for Nirvana Memorial, the company that runs the cemetery. "We are still fine tuning the laser lights."
Most crypts are dark, eerie places, with floors littered with incense ash and urns piled high to the ceiling in tiny pigeonholes, each adorned with a picture of the deceased.
But in Nirvana Memorial, luxury and space are aplenty.
"This is not a place for people to come only once a year to visit their parents or relatives, we want to create an environment to encourage them to come as often as possible," said Jeff Kong, director of Nirvana Memorial Singapore.
The so-called "six star" vault is Singapore's first luxury final resting place and the brainchild of Malaysian-based NV Multi Corp which has other similar projects in Southeast Asia.
Buddhism is the most popular religion in Singapore, with over 40 percent of the population believers.
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