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DIE- Death Is Expensive

A Tribute



                              Khuswant Singh wrote, "People can be divided into givers,takers,suckers and spongers". My late nanaji, Mr. Rajender Jha was the biggest giver i met in my life. Nani tells me that he used to give his whole monthly salary to the poor even though they weren't very well off themselves and the whole family would then have to spend the month cutting their costs. He was a police officer, a man devoted to public service in the true sense of the word. The most royal person ever. He lived grand. And he died grand. He went on to the heavenly abode last year. There was grief on his death but we had all seen it coming. Had even prayed for it. Its difficult to see your loved one bedridden for a year. Unable to do anything on his own, struggling to live  just so because his family wanted him to. Ever read Shakespeare's Seven Ages poem? Nanaji perfectly described man in his last stage of life, in his second childhood....unable to do even the simplest of things on his own. Before he entered the bedridden stage, he had 3 cardiac arrests and was declared dead by the hospital. Even put on a ice slab and in the morgue. But surprising us all, he rose from the dead. If he would have died that day, i am sure half the family would have died wid him. Coz it was a totally unexpected thing. A fit 6 foot man dieing suddenly is totally unexpected. But he lived for us.....and then left us alone.....
               
    But coming back to the topic, it was his first death anniversary yesterday and i was remembering the day one year back. Hindu Rituals state that there has to be a proper send off of the soul if u want it to attain moksha. We all know its stupid, but then would u think twice before doing anything u can for ur family? About 5-6 lakhs were spent in those five days. On what u ask? On proper food (including 10 types of pulses), clothing, umbrella, bed and what not for the pandit for a whole year!!! And there's a lot more. 2 days there was bhoj(dinnner) for 200 people. And as if that is not enough, it is mandatory to repeat this stupid dinner process for 5 YEARS!!!! I used to scoff on the people who took loans just for marriages and these death anniversaries....but now i understand why its so important for them to properly do all this. As my mama said, " Even though i know that all this is just a waste of money and time...i can't let my modern belief get into the path of the safe departure of my father's soul from this world. I just cant take such a big risk." And i totally agree with him.....But this forces me to wonder how in the world do the poor afford 4-5 lakh every year?
Its as simple as this.....it is even more difficult to die peacefully than to live knowing that so much money will be spent on you even after u r dead! I know that i'd rather not die....not because i wan to live...but because i cant have my family spend so much money and time on me...knowing that its no use to me now.
R.I.P Nanaji! You'll forever be alive in our hearts!! 

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