In the modern era of the 21st century, We all are so busy clearing off forests so that we could accommodate more and more people. Building skyscrapers , so we could take up space not only horizontally, but vertically as well!!!! Meanwhile the automo...
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HELLO ALL!!! BEFORE YOU BEGIN , I WOULD LIKE TO TELL THE NON-TAMIL READERS THAT THIS IS A STORY BASED ON SOUTH INDIA, (TAMIL NADU) AND MAY CONTAIN SOME SOUTH INDIAN (TAMIL) TERMS, BUT DON'T WORRY YOU WILL FIND THE TRANSLATIONS AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER....!!!! THANK YOU , AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING IT.. :) XOXO Bloodgalleon7
I had a particular dislike towards funerals. Fair enough, no one actually wants it to happen..!! But there was something beyond 'Death' that made me hate the occasion....
But before all that, let me tell you about myself. I am Shravanthi Krishnan, an average med student hailing from Tamil Nadu. I am the kind of person whom most people think are like the rest of them but is not. I like to talk. I wonder a lot .About a lot of things. About the neighborhood dog who seems to think that I am his long lost love! , the endless sky that changes color more than a dying Dorado, the design of destiny.. you get the drift! And I like to keep it to myself, because most people get irritated ! And yeah, coming back to the topic, Funerals....
If any of you had ever been to a funeral and especially one in South India, you will understand..
First of all there is a distinct difference between the agarbathi they light in temples and the ones used in funerals. No, its not the smell, its more of the gloominess that wafts along with the scent. Yes, the agarbathi gives you an extra reason to grieve. The smell itself is plain depressing. The same applies to the flowers as well, because in normal days, the same flowers smell different...happy! And then the people. It is an unwritten rule in Tamil funerals, that you cry out loud as soon as you come and throw yourself onto the person of the house, irrespective of whether you actually grieve or not, and not long from that, hot beverages are served ,in which some people prefer to have 'sugar free gold' instead of normal sugar, followed by chit chats about whose son has got into the IIT, and whose daughter had divorced her husband! Doesn't that dilute the ambience??? Well, maybe it really is meant to neutralize the gloom !
Death , I agree this is a clichéd phrase , is something that eventually comes for everyone. It is only right to treat death the same way we treat the birth of an infant, not with joy of course, but the idea that 'death is bad' isn't it silly? I mean, has any of us ever seen what happens after we die? What if death is beautiful? Of course, fearing the unknown is a natural instinct of any living being. But , what if death is the actual thing that is permanent and this life on Earth is just a temporary phase? Like an entrance exam to eternal bliss! May be we should pass the test to get the key to paradise. Like Dante quoted in The Divine Comedy, it is Purgatorio, Inferno and Paradiso. Maybe the key to paradise is Life itself!!! And therefore it is a shame to weep at death.
For once I appreciate the western practice. Talking about their memories with the person deceased and cherishing them , I think is a better way of biding farewell to the soul isn't it?
Agarbathi : Joss sticks that are burnt to produce pleasant smell during religious ceremonies , in temples etc.
