Sunday, July 05, 2009

All Farewells Aren't Fun



It confounds me every time I see people raise raucous cries while carrying a corpse to the crematorium. They don't softly weep or wail in their hour of bereavement which would be the natural thing to do but literally take the Lord's name in vain. The otherwise eerie monotony of the "bolo hori....horibol" assumes such uncouth a tenor amidst their frenzied clamoring that onlookers are both scandalised and disgusted. Such shameless is the show of revelry in some cases that the uninititated alien might well feel an urge to join the picnickers in their joy-ride. Some even go ahead and hire cymbal-clanging kirtaniyas to test the patience of the dead on their last journey. Some of these "processions" seem similar to the chaotic janazas in the West Bank where grieving men and women beat their chests in despair while others wield their Kalashnikovs vowing revenge. Only here the dead stands wronged by his own who allow this sort of dishonor.

I wonder if any self-respecting human being if given a choice would assent to such loud and ludicrous a farewell. Such a show only craves attention when it is least wanted and makes a mockery of death which in all its somberness demands respect not ridicule.


11 comments:

BK Chowla, said...

It is stupid.The old women cry so that the relalatives who are greiving should take notice of their presence.The customs are wrong,in my view.
The last journey should be peaceful

Americanising Desi said...

i wonder why have you been hding so much

WritingsForLife said...

well i suppose it depends on the point of view. Some people do consider *this* an honor.
;-)

AshenGlow said...

Ironically, i guess taking lord's name is supposed to give the family memebers and close ones the patience and strength to endure the loss of their loved one.

Its weird how traditions differ at different places.. there are places where sacred books are read out aloud so that the chants may help the bereaving build hope... and there are places where ladies (i guess they are called rudahlis) are hired to wail out loud and create a melanchonic atmosphere so that no one keeps the agony and pain locked inside and just lets it un-dam..

Whats in a name.......... said...

agreed. ppl make a tamasha out of the dead.

FlotsaM said...

A very sharp observation....
But somehow i think this reveals how insignificant is human memory as an alternative to the physical existence...with body every thing goes away...

Whats in a name.......... said...

someone has not blogged for sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long now!!!!

Nikhil Warrier said...

nice observation...

Nikhil Warrier said...

nice observation...

Nikhil Warrier said...

nice observation...

AshenGlow said...

DUDE! Its been 4 months now! Update!... Puhleez!

!!!
Ashen