A Living Funeral

A living funeral is a gathering centered around someone who will soon die.

I first came across the concept of a living funeral in the book 'Tuesdays with Morrie'. No, I haven't read the book. It is just another bit of reflected knowledge that I have. Morrie was diagnosed with some critical illness and the doctors had given him three months or so to live. It was then that Morrie was struck with the idea of having a living funeral.

A month or so back my mother's college principal expired. He had been instrumental in coaxing my mother to major in English Literature. And majoring in English Lit truly changed my mother's life, in more ways than one. When my mother was reading her mentor's obituary, she learnt things about him that she never quite knew. Her principal had majored from Oxford and then done his doctorate from Harvard. But he chose to leave all that and come and teach students in some nondescript corner of India. And while I was reading the glowing tributes paid to him by his very many students, there was only one thought in my mind.

If only he could have read all this...

Writing flowery obituaries is nice, but honestly dude, you missed the boat. These tributes will be little consolation to the bereaved family. And since not all of us will be fortunate enough to attend living funerals and tell that special some one all that we have felt, I feel a simple 'Thank You' card would be just as effective. Which is precisely why I bought a bunch of them and gave them to my favorite teachers. One friend of mine remarked that since college was over I need not butter them any more. But my relationship with them goes far beyond marks and subjects I couldn't care less about. And as write this piece I see that I still have one card left. One more chance to put a smile on someone's face. Before I buy another set.

Quote of the Day: Time always has some reconciling effect. On every ruin there
eventually grows grass, and then some shrubbery, and finally, before
you realize it, what is really an old hideous ruin becomes a romantic
sight and legend.

Article dedicated to every one of you who has written me a thank you card and shown me the way.