Sunday, February 11, 2007

Obituaries

I have this morbid fascination of reading Obituaries in the newspaper everyday. Not that I am keen about knowing which of my fellow human beings left for their heavenly abode that day.( this phrase is copyrighted to Kushwant Singh, let the sardar pardon me ) Just a curiosity to know to read that, that’s all !!!

I don’t know what I see in that in general. But I look at the date of birth & death and calculate how soon someone died. A writer once said that, if they are older, he feels happy that nothing is amiss yet, and if they are younger, once again happy that he is still around in wretched unjust world. Me, I don’t think of any such stuff, though when I see youngsters dying it creates a pang of pain.

I keep thinking though about what the family would be feeling at that time, if life has been cut short by cruel fate. They should be cursing really, and many of them would have this guilt of being around still, as if there was a trade possible in the first place. But I can understand, its really painful.

Epicurus said, ‘Death is nothing to us, since as long as we exist death does not exist and when death comes we don’t’. Profound!! But the pain about death is not your own, but others, whom you loved and whose absence would be a sudden void in your life.

I could not cry when my father died and I saw him lying in state. Not even during the many rituals that are harsh reminders about him not being there. I even went back to work with my newfound male pride masking the sorrow. But when I went back home and saw his bed empty I cried. It is more about what you had and understand it sometime that you don’t have it anymore.

Coming back to obituaries, I sometimes even feel happy when I see these really old Methuselah’s conk off. It should be a big relief, for them and people around them. It may even be a reunion of the family of some sorts. But, their spouses should be hurting, hurting real bad. Worst thing about death is leaving your spouse, with whom you shared every minute of your adult life. Alternate is also not that pleasing. You are not willing to go around empty too. Are you ??!!!

There is really nothing to even think about now. Some hardcore physicists still don’t accept that time exists. Because, if someone asks you, what’s the time now and you tell them, that second has already passed. So, there is never a real past, present & future.

No sweat honestly. Let it happen when it does.

No comments: