A THIN DIVIDING LINE

A THIN DIVIDING LINE
By Sudeshna Majumdar
E- mail: - sdmder@gmail.com

“Cheep cheep asru bahane walo mooti vyarth bahane walo kuch swapno ke mar jane se jeewan nahi mara karta hai…”

Death had a smell. It is that cloying languid aroma that is a mixture of agarbattis, keorawater and the overpowering fragrance of rajnigandha. It hangs thick in the atmosphere, dulling our senses into believing that the just departed soul would be lingering close by and by a miracle may even re-enter the mortal world.

I got that smell the moment we entered a friend’s house on hearing the news of his wife’s death. It was sad specially because it was untimely. It was only the other day that we had chatted long into the night. Now suddenly we were at a loss for words. Our friend was inconsolable. He recounted every minute of the previous evening to show how normal everything was till that fatal stroke at midnight. It only showed how thin the dividing line was between life and death yet so firm!

For several days thereafter we called on him. Naturally the talk invariably turned to life after death, even as we recounted happier times in the past; he was trying to come to grip with the separation. Yet, I could still get that languid smell through the chanting of hymns and devotional songs. That day things looked different as we rang the bell. The garden was well watered and green. Our friend opened the door and greeted us with a smile. Breakfast was being cooked, the house was being neat and clean and well kept as before.

“It’s good you have come. I would have called you up in any case. A miracle has happened.” He led us into his drawing room which was also his music room complete with the harmonium, tabla and taanpura. He drew the curtains aside. Wonder of wonders, three small kittens were playing on the array of instruments that were lined up. They crawled up and tumbled down by turns. For several minutes we watched in fascination - If death had paid a visit so had life. “That is the signal I was waiting for and I am now at peace. You need not worry about me anymore,” he said.

From the above story, please allow me to remind you all about those trivial things in life which occur every day and make life either grand or awful. Yes, I am referring to the most unexpected natural disaster of Uttarakhand (India) which brought about loss of life and indeed had a permanent change to the natural environment and left an indelible shock and awe to the minds of humanity.

Let us not forget that death comes unexpectedly which helps us to realize that we are not going to know when it is our time to go. Life is of great importance, for we only have one life to live. Therefore, in order to make life the best, we must understand life. The trivial events that occur every day, and by illustrating death as an existence we want to enter with happiness not remorse.

This is what I believe the people in the graveyard are “waiting for”. They are waiting for their own interpretations of the life they lived, to sink into their souls and change their regrets to happiness. They are waiting for that time when they realize that life on earth is just the beginning and living keeps going on. At times life can be rough and can lead to sorrow but only the activeness and appreciation of life we live on earth can lead to something, that something which is even greater.