Decorating with the dead!!
The so called ‘baby boomers’ no longer follow the old parochial ways when it comes to the dead. Many of them now believe in the concept of celebrating the dead. Am sure you would have read the articles in NYtimes or other blogs in the internet about what am going to mention.
Now we have event planners for the funerals. It’s no longer held in the church, but held in the everyday places where the departed loved ones used to spend their time. Like on the other day, I read about a funeral held at the 18th hole of a golf course. The reason was that the person spent all his Sundays at the golf course rather than at the church. Makes sense, right?
Well, this post is not to paraphrase the articles from different sources. It’s about how we remember the dead long after we’ve lost them.
Many people collect objects their loved ones left behind. The objects need not be originally crafted by them; it can be things collected over their lifetime, like for instance paintings. Some collect books and build a small library in the name of their loved ones. There are some who hold on to the jewelry, like the ear rings and necklaces, and some others to dresses. Yet there are others who just have the memories of their departed loved ones.
Now there’s another way. Thanks to technology and the human curiosity that continuously churns out new ideas. Today I happened to listen on the radio – things called ‘Life gems’. What they do is, collect the ashes from the cremated bodies and extract the carbon out of them. Then use that carbon to make diamonds. This is a wonderful idea, isn’t it? One can say he/she was worth so many diamonds. Am just kidding…one has to remember the second law before coming down to such comparisons. Anyways…For some people, diamonds are priceless; things that are irreplaceable. They would have the same feeling towards their lost loved ones, right? In such cases, won’t it be appropriate to convert the loved ones to diamonds?
I had this crazy idea of preserving what my grandfather used when he was alive; his bed, pillows, comb, dentures, half used soap…his room; I mean everything. Then my uncle brought me to my senses by saying ‘No’. What I have now is his memory and his voice on the tape. I don’t need to decorate myself or my house with the articles he used. At the same time am not criticizing those who collect things, or those who have signed up to make diamonds out of their loved ones. It’s their way of doing things.
From all of this, one thing strikes to my mind. If one could make diamonds out of us, man and nature are one and the same. We are just different manifestation of things around us. Well I wish to go on…but wait, I’ll save it for another post.
Now we have event planners for the funerals. It’s no longer held in the church, but held in the everyday places where the departed loved ones used to spend their time. Like on the other day, I read about a funeral held at the 18th hole of a golf course. The reason was that the person spent all his Sundays at the golf course rather than at the church. Makes sense, right?
Well, this post is not to paraphrase the articles from different sources. It’s about how we remember the dead long after we’ve lost them.
Many people collect objects their loved ones left behind. The objects need not be originally crafted by them; it can be things collected over their lifetime, like for instance paintings. Some collect books and build a small library in the name of their loved ones. There are some who hold on to the jewelry, like the ear rings and necklaces, and some others to dresses. Yet there are others who just have the memories of their departed loved ones.
Now there’s another way. Thanks to technology and the human curiosity that continuously churns out new ideas. Today I happened to listen on the radio – things called ‘Life gems’. What they do is, collect the ashes from the cremated bodies and extract the carbon out of them. Then use that carbon to make diamonds. This is a wonderful idea, isn’t it? One can say he/she was worth so many diamonds. Am just kidding…one has to remember the second law before coming down to such comparisons. Anyways…For some people, diamonds are priceless; things that are irreplaceable. They would have the same feeling towards their lost loved ones, right? In such cases, won’t it be appropriate to convert the loved ones to diamonds?
I had this crazy idea of preserving what my grandfather used when he was alive; his bed, pillows, comb, dentures, half used soap…his room; I mean everything. Then my uncle brought me to my senses by saying ‘No’. What I have now is his memory and his voice on the tape. I don’t need to decorate myself or my house with the articles he used. At the same time am not criticizing those who collect things, or those who have signed up to make diamonds out of their loved ones. It’s their way of doing things.
From all of this, one thing strikes to my mind. If one could make diamonds out of us, man and nature are one and the same. We are just different manifestation of things around us. Well I wish to go on…but wait, I’ll save it for another post.
posted by Bhargav @ 2:37 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This is an interesting post, Bhargav.
And yes, you have been tagged. Details in my blog.
Hi man. I don't like thedead people mostly because they smell awful. And they are very very boring.I don't know. On one hand I can understand preserving the memory of a loved one. People want others (younger family members who didn't know the deceased) to better understand themselves and their family connections. Then its nice to have some token of rememberance. But mostly maybe mostly at first its just hard to let go, and the stuff serves as a temporary substitute.
either way I mostly don't like dead peolpe
@ Shruthi
Thanks for stopping by.
@ anonymous
It would be nice if you left your name. I see your point about preserving the memory and also the difficult part of parting with it. I also agree dead people smell bad and are boring, but in the form of diamonds are they really boring, or will they still smell bad? Anyways, thanks for stopping by. The post was to show how creative one can get - making lifeless objects from a body that was once functioning very much like me and you, or collect things that once belonged to them - just to keep it going long after the occurrence of death.
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