Art for art’s sake, the archetypal slogan of modern art, was never known to them. Still, their aesthetic expression confirms their essential faith in beauty and humanity.

As these coffin makers take up their tools, instead of grief for the dead, their soul is permeated by the sheer joy of designing the vehicle that would take a person, a stranger to them, to his final destination.

Aren’t our “sweetest songs” those that tell of the “saddest thought”? L Madeira, a 200-year-old coffin manufacturing shop in Kolkata, would remind you of such songs.

As you walk past 13, Bow Street in the Bow Barrack area, you can’t miss the sound of hammer striking chunks of wood. And if curiosity gets the better of you, then you will find a small room bustling with activity.

Twenty-seven men bent over chunks of wooden pieces busy fashioning the structures of coffins. The mansion was the only place in Kolkata where coffins used to be prepared until “Peace Heaven” in Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Street came up recently.

These craftsmen, residents of far-flung Deltaic region of the Sunderbans, Koikhali, Bakkhali and several interior villages of South 24-Pargans, work day in and day out.

But for them, it is not work. No drudgery is associated with it. For them, this is purely an artistic expression, and joy abounds.

For Satyajit Mondol, the 27-year-old from Sunderbans, carving coffins and designing them with exquisite art is more of a passion than a source of livelihood. “It is quite an odd profession. And money does not roll in always. But it is a great way of expressing one’s artistic capability and paying homage to the dead,” says the young man.

In this war-torn century, when respect for even the living is becoming an extinct emotion, the statement is worth a thought.

It’s not unusual that though coffins are related mostly with the Christianity, the manufacturing art has not remained confined within the narrow boundaries of any particular religion.

For Prakash Rana and his brother, “it is not a question of religion. It’s purely an artistic pleasure,” said Prakash Rana who earns a bare living by working as a coffin manufacturer.

As these artists, mostly living on meagre means, narrate their experiences, you wonder at their respect for the dead.

The art is not limited to the wooden vehicle. The craftsmen also arrange for an entire funeral process.

“From laying velvet carpets to putting up flower vase in the church, we take care of everything,” said Leon Madeira, owner of L Madeira, who is more popular as Abba in the Christian community of the city. Abba is the only person in the city who knows the art of embalming. Embalming has descended to him through his Portuguese ancestors.

Perhaps the thought of the gory details sends Abba into a silence. Let the unsaid remain unsaid, as Wittgenstein suggested. He changes the topic, giving details about himself.

A marine engineer by profession, he teaches the craftsmen to carve designs on the wooden box mostly made of teak and hollock wood.

The artists prepare several types of coffins. Normal teak coffins, costing Rs 1500, are more in demand these days.

Artists also prepare ‘A’ category coffin, which costs Rs 4,500 and takes two days to make.

These are covered with satin linings and aluminum curvatures.

Returning home, you wish to say loud — Death Be Not Proud. Beauty has salvaged the mankind from disasters. And in the love and respect showered on giving beauty to a wooden vehicle, we have defeated you, O Death.