Death...business of Lord Yama?

Why is death such a morbid topic to discuss when it is a gospel truth? Just as we speak of life, why do we abstain from talking about lifelessness? Why is it unsavory? If it is for you too, PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER.

: )

Long ago, I read a quote which has stayed with me since-“death is in love with life and it is a mad, obsessive love; that is the reason they never part”. I find it so beautiful that any explantion is very likely to marr its inherent appeal. So let me leave it at that.

Regulars with this blog would definitely have read “When I die” (http://sunanda-offthebeatenpath.blogspot.com/2007/02/when-i-die.html), a satirical poem on the subject I teach…but leaving jokes apart, I have often wondered and imagined how I would ideally like to depart from this planet, or whether I fear death and introspection has revealed a negative answer. I do not ‘fear’ death-I just fear misery. Blackness should envelope me while I am still hale and hearty; not striken and infirm. And I guess that is what most of us fear, not death.

Ideally, I would like to be assasinated or be a martyr. Okay, so it sounds dark, but then I feel that a situation where the nation pays tribute to the departed soul or your body is shrouded with the national flag-honoured with a 21 gun salvo are deaths worth dying for! After all, they reflect on how you lived! Is it not? The last few dialogues of ‘The Last Samurai’ resound within me where the deceased Samurai’s son asks the hero: “Tell me how he died”. And the hero replies, “No, I would tell you how he lived!”

Just as I write this piece, I am reminded of a friend who compliments me on my sunshine smile. : ). She advised me against writing this piece saying that one just cannot connect death with me…someone who is so vitally alive and whose every fibre lives so intensely! I take it as a compliment! Thanks dear and take some more of that ‘SUNSHINE’ smile : )

If I throw modesty to winds, I am reminded of two songs; one from Jab we met and the other from Tashan:

“तुम से ही din होता है

सुर्मिये शाम आती

तुमसे ही तुमसे ही”…lovely and it means so much.

And the other one…

“इस बात पे चाँद भी bigda, कतरा कतरा वह पिघला

भर आया आंखो में मेरी

तो सूरज भुजा दूँ, तुझे मैं सजा दूँ

सवेरा हो तुझ से ही कल”…if I am sunshine, savera tow mujh se hi hoga…kyun? : ) Vanity Vanity…I know!!

Hey by the by…I would like to be reincarnated as “Hope”; for it always remains. Remember Pandora’s box! Yeah, some of you do.

Take care and enjoy life…(http://sunanda-offthebeatenpath.blogspot.com/2006/05/journey-of-life.html)

PS: Continuing with my dark humour- you may consider this as a part of my unregistered will!

:) Smile dearies...just kidding

India Lives in Villages…

Gone are the days when I had the privilege of accompanying Ma, my grandmother, to her village in Uttar Pradesh. The memories of some episodes are so vivid; they refuse to leave my psyche. For instance, I was around 6 years when I, with my wide eyed amazement, for the first time saw what a pulia looked like and how risky it was to cross the muddy bog for which it was meant. The village kids on the other hand crossed it with reckless abandon, running after the ice candy man. Portions of that swamp moved every now and then, only to reveal one lazy buffalo or the other raising its head to catch a breather. My emotions moved from that of amazement to shock and fear and settled with fascination—with everything. It was a different world and I fell in love with it.

Do not have pictures of those memories, but luckily a friend recently sent a few snapshots of Madhubani and nearby areas, which inevitably compelled me to recollect…


This little girl took offence to the blatant invasion of privacy and ran away utterly shocked! Cute picture though! : ))


A bit hazy, but good enough considering the fact that it is from a mobile camera and perhaps taken in a jiffy…and one thing about the Indian buffalo; they are OBSTINATE. Really, when it comes not to move, they can give any donkey a run for his money! Many times they have to be literally bribed to be taken out of water bodies.


Lovely pic. It is a pokhar. Ma used to tell that every village has one atleast and its upkeep is community responsibility. Ah! Don’t you envy those children taking a dip to beat the heat! : ). No ultra modern swimming pool can beat this luxury.


Now does it not remind you of those clay and metal models of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa excavations that used to beautify our history books? Come SX4 or whatever, some models are evergreen. Aren’t they? Btw, can you see the goat posing!


THE most sought after man during summers. Lick lollies are not an urban invention dearies…ask your grandma and she would regale you with stories. Notice the damroo which he uses to announce his advent. Some even keep a lathi to prevent themselves from being mobbed by irate kids! No kidding!

Necessity is the mother of invention! A line of chulah’s…and connected too so that the heat does not escape to get wasted. Ingenious or what!

No Indian village is complete without its cattle…no?
Their condition however, in most of the places is not happy. That is the reason why someone has remarked, "I would rather be a cow in the USA--well fed but slaughtered, than be a cow in India--worshipped and starved!" So apt...yeah, something needs to be done here.


Ok…ruins of some structure but picturesque in its own unique sense. You know, ruins have a strange feature…they turn eerie by dusk. I bet mothers of this village would use this as a stratagem to lull their little ones to sleep by concocting stories of that imaginary bhoot that dwells there.


The village Panchayat tree minus that chabutra encircling it. Notice the amount of shade that it gives. Are you also resisting the strange urge to climb it! : ))


Kluck kluck klan : )). They are an absolute treat to watch. The chicks would blindly imitate the hen and peck at everything that comes in their way as if they are pecking at food…and look quite silly in that attempt to masquerade their inexperience at pecking. And one thing more…they would follow the hen to wherever she goes.


Water bodies have that innate capacity to put anyone on an even keel…the picture looks so peaceful, you would want to sit by its side and philosophize. No?


Poor solitary soul…appears to be tied at the feet to prevent it from escaping. So, waiting for its release…don’t worry mulie, rescue ranger approaches!


Tracks of development…


I would love to own one of these…the Indian hut. Lovely beyond words!


This was unbelievable…Bapu still has followers and his simians still manage to moralise people. Kudos to whoever made it!

Hope you enjoyed the collage dearies! This is India, my homeland.