The funeral pyre is getting ready to be lit,
The smoke engulfs, ashes get strewn,
Spectators look, jostle, pay respects and move on,
They look for shade, a place without the smoke, and wait.
As the pyre is lit and the person who now has no identity,
"Body", that is how the person is now talked about,
Is being burnt with firewood, ghee, sandalwood,
Mantras, rites and rituals.
What did the man stand for,
What was his contribution,
What was his fame and what was his name?
So many years of living is now up in flames.
The family congregates,
They talk in muffled whispers,
If you hear carefully,
The talk is inane.
The story of the man will remain,
His picture will adorn a wall,
People will move on,
Life will go on,
It seems like just another death, another funeral, another ritual,
It culminates in just another tea and biscuit session.
The smoke engulfs, ashes get strewn,
Spectators look, jostle, pay respects and move on,
They look for shade, a place without the smoke, and wait.
As the pyre is lit and the person who now has no identity,
"Body", that is how the person is now talked about,
Is being burnt with firewood, ghee, sandalwood,
Mantras, rites and rituals.
What did the man stand for,
What was his contribution,
What was his fame and what was his name?
So many years of living is now up in flames.
The family congregates,
They talk in muffled whispers,
If you hear carefully,
The talk is inane.
The story of the man will remain,
His picture will adorn a wall,
People will move on,
Life will go on,
It seems like just another death, another funeral, another ritual,
It culminates in just another tea and biscuit session.
4 comments:
Expressed very nicely.
Sunil Uke said,"And Life moves on..........."
Anamika Rimmi said,"Auntie it's a unique interpretation , very well defined ...."
Why Varsha such 'Macabre Musings'? I see a shift in your thought process. In course of time the picture on the wall will also fade and the wall itself will cease to exist, but as Robert Frost says "In three words I can sum up everything I have learned of life - it goes on"
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