A late claim to fame


It has been a long time, since I have been able to collect my thoughts on a particular facet of life, of experience and pour out my admiration or vent my frustration in the form of a post. This has to do more with the amount of work that has suddenly increased, work, I am actually paid for doing. Now, that was a joke and lies on the lighter side of things.

But I have to thank my namesake,
sreejith, for providing some holistic relief here. While chatting, I actually asked him a question, a question which I have been tossing about in my mind, for quite some time.

“What if I die suddenly..? How will I let all you friends in the blog world know..”

Now obviously there are many people out there who would feel irritated or rather agitated at the pessimism in my words. To all of you. It`s just a thought. I want to live forever. I love life. Life is my soul`s constant companion. Now, before I digress.

Sreejith told me about this one person called Amresh Sawant, who had a profile on
orkut. About how he had no one, or rather very few people visiting his profile, but how there came the news that he had passed away in the Mumbai Blasts, and people, both known and unknown, near and far away have been visiting his profile ever since. May his soul rest in peace. But Meanwhile,

Friends, please greet an irony called Life.!

There are many instances, where I myself have noticed that people are valued more after there is this realization that they are no more.. They are sought after, they are suddenly worshipped and loved all the more. A number of times, the respect and admiration gets rather mutiplied, without proportion.

Again, yet the basic irony is that these same people ( I shall include myself here, after all I must be honest ) would not wish death upon themselves or their immediate loved ones. In Mahabharatha, there is an anecdote, where an Yaksha asks Yudhistra, what the most surprising thing in the world is..? He replies, that it is that though Man is a witness to death around him every single day, he still yearns to live forever. He is in search of an utopia where there is no death.

Let us take a simple fact in our lives, to which we have all been a witness. Thespian actor Rajkumar was kidnapped by Veerappan and his fans all over India mourned. They waited patiently for his release and wished death for Veerappan. Later he was released.

When Rajkumar, later passed away due to natural reasons, there were strikes and acts of arson in the city of Bangalore. I wonder, if these people who rioted after his death, had rioted when he was abducted, with the same kind of passion, would it have been enough to exert enough pressure on the government to nab veerappan then and there.


I can only again blame myself.. After all I am writing this again after Veerappan himself is no more.

Comments

Has to be me said…
Good 2 c a post from u after long! I wld also think that u r being pessimestic but then after I read abt Amresh, u r quite right as we never know whats to happen tommorrow.
The eg of Yudhishtir is so apt & so true.
Its best to enjoy every minute of life that we live & to cherish the same. I know its easier said than done cos we need to have the same attitude during our downs as well which is what is difficult!
Have a good day!
Reshmi said…
I want to live forever. I love life.

Me too:)Know that death is a harsh reality, but still feel scared of a death. And just wish could live on and on...
Scoot said…
Who doesn't want to live forever.What does life hold for us right now and what about after?These are unanswered questions and unfolds after we have gone....I wonder if we will ever know.
Maybe that is the mystery of life.
today I had this continuing conversation with my dad( who is always influenced by his irritating brothers),he keeps asking me when are you going to complete your first year,your second blah,internship and now that I have completed all that.And working in peace....he suddenly pops the question..when are you going to do a PG.I tell you,Sri,It is so annoying.
They never give us any satisfaction while we are alive...To feel alive in itself is the most joyous thing.But all is lost when the people around us talk like this and make us feel like we are incomplete in some way or the other.
passerby55 said…
Hi there,

A post with a zeal to live and love life and also alert of its END.

A simple truth written silently by you.

Srijith, life is wonderful and Death will come one day.

I have seen deaths due to cancer, accidents, heartattacks and even a suicide within my circle. I sometimes keenly study them and think why did such a death come to them....

I wondered what kind of death is in store for me, will the options i wish for come true for me!

YOu made me think!....
Movie Mazaa said…
Sri

This a thought that has oft flitted across my mind as well. the only difference perhaps is that, i let it flit across. :)

not just the blogging world, there are any number of acquaintances that one makes, even in out here, right where we move about. several of them become friends, and several others remain right somewhere inside, all enwrapped with a haze of obscurity, but which has a faint tinge of affection draped all over it nevertheless. u find urself thinking of them, ever so often, and they r right there, though u know for sure, that u r not gonna perhaps meet them ever again.

and one fine day, u get to hear that they r no more. they havent been there for the last seven months, and u never even knew!

and perhaps, they get to hear that u have been gone, long, long ago.

strange. yet, infinitely true!
Deepak said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Deepak said…
A parallel to this from a movie comes to my mind. Movie is "The Last Castle". The dialogue goes thus:

Colonel Winter: What do you hope to get out of your time here?
General Irwin: Nothing. I just want to do my time and go home.
Colonel Winter: That's the perfect answer.

It doesn't matter how long we live. Just do our duty to the world and go back. That's what we all are here for.
Priya said…
SriJ,

I live for today and don't bother about tomorrow coz I donno what will happen.
If we are born, we have to die one day. Everything stays even after we are gone.
Death: We may be invisible, but as clouds watch what the world does without communicating.
starry said…
A very truthful post.we all would love to live forever but we have to accept the fact that life does not go on forever. Life is short, try and make the best of it, give it your all and then whatever happens happens.No regrets.
srijithunni said…
@has to be me : Yes.. a post after a long while.. Life is full of ups and downs, and we all are not gods to be aloof during the downs, but during the ups, we can make the best of it.. can`t we..?

@Reshmi : All of us are like that. We are so much in love with our lives.. but there will come one day, when we realize time`s up.!

@Maya : Yes, Maya, I too do the same, I wonder whether we will ever know..but at times, it`s better to live in the present. :)
About your dad, I think what he needs is to know what`s exactly running in your mind. All fathers like to keep an eye on their sweet little daughters. Welcome to conservative India. I think you must just spend some time with him and let him know of your real interests. Let him be more knowledgeable about you, than anyone else, so that next time, his brothers try to share their wisdom, he can be the proud father and reply " I know my daughter well" Believe me!, Maya, this will work.. No one is incomplete and in some ways all of us are not complete either. It is in camaraderie and bonding with others in our lives, that we feel or rather experience a sense of completion.

Finally, Maya.. I am no saint and cannot lecture or do not consider myself too intelligent about life to teach you, but I believe we can both share our thoughts so that we feel complete.

@passerby55 : Yes, we all think about our death don`t we..? At times, people have strange deaths, and die in pain, and yet some people pass away peacefully in their sleep. If we live life well, do our duties well, why would death alone punish us..? and yet I too am thinking after reading your comment.

@Velu : Very Very True, velu.. Not just the blogging world. Anywhere we go, we miss out on people, special people, who have completed their lives, but we are left with a vaccuum, in their absence and we suddenly stop to look at our own lives.. So very true.

@Gaurav : Yes, Gaurav, in a way we really don`t value things when we have them beside us. In Malayalam there is a proverb, which translates to "The jasmine flower in the frontyard is not fragrant". We need to miss things in our life, to appreciate them.

About the Firefox, thing.. I`m sorry about it.. Let me look into it immediately. Thanks for bringing that up. Shall install firefox and check.

@Deepak : Great lines Indeed.! We do our duties and just go back. That is what is also conveyed in the Gita I guess. After all Life is a bundle of duties, but we still do more than just that also.. We love, we are prone to desire, We think, We get nostalgic.. So our life become myriad and we try to forget the reality. It takes a saint to not love life.

@Priya : Excellent words, priya, It`s like the clouds. Always hovering over us, watching us, but never stopping us, in the midst. We should live for today. Make each day a glorious one, for tomorrow the clouds may descend.

@Starry Nights: yes Starry.. life is short. We have to make the best of it.. We should live everyday with the happiness, that we will live forever, inspite of the underlying knowledge that death is near. And your new profile pic is absolutely gorgeous.

Friends, Thank you all for your great comments.. Enjoyed reading them.

Wish you all a very Happy friendship day!
chitra said…
I dont know, infact I have ben wondering the same. What, if i am dead , how will i let my blog friends know?

My son, asked me, why is that for certain people death comes in without announcingand for certain people, they have to suffer. I blamed it all on Chitragupt's admin. it is just that he might have forgotten about those people till the deadline arrived!
That is an immediate explanation i could give to my 10 year son. But yes, the question remains unanswered...
Well Sreejith, I never expected that a chat session between we two could initiate for some brilliant piece of writing! That is really amazing man, pretty neatly done. Kudos!

Imagine this, how many email are going unattended daily. How many 'add as friend' requests are going wasted in Orkut and other friendship communities, how many prayers, wishes and prospects are getting tattered everyday. Aspirations, ambitions, motives, and all...... A split second; FINISHED! As heard somewhere, life is nothing more than a lit up candle. One small blow of wind is enough to snuff it out....

We all want to live and know the values and worths of our lives, and that is the reason we get shocked whenever there are Amresh Sawants around, every minute, every day....

Cheers for making a post out of that conversation!
srijithunni said…
@Chitra : Hi!, Welcome in here.. That`s a nice way to teach a child, Chitra.. Blaming Chitragupt`s Admin. Some day he will learn himself and perhaps even blog about his realization about the inner truth in what his mother taught him. :)
Anyway, a nice point of view..!

@Sreejith : Yeah, Sreejith that`s all it takes.. A split second.. and everything is lost. A relationship becomes just another memory beside many..
Thank you for the appreciation and the provocation..;-)
Ram said…
Which do you think is sadder Sri? To be so sick of life that you want to die [how many stories have we heard of our elders being neglected?] or to be so afraid of death when it is imminent [the sick, those with fatal diseases]...something I have thought about...
srijithunni said…
@Ram : Both these things, which you have talked about are very sad affairs. The Elders hate being neglected, and fear of forthcoming death is also another reason to feel greatly sad and fed up with our lives.
But I believe strongly that even in those times of suffering, people can learn to appreciate life, as a god given gift. Haven`t we heard of elders who are neglected, yet live courageously and with great self-esteem.

They bond with the less - privileged and bring light into their lives, all the while hiding their own sadness. Don`t we have a lesson to learn from them ?

What about people, who are suffering from cancer or even AIDS, who struggle and set examples, that you can fight. What about those people who fight mentally and brave against the tide. Shouldn`t we do justice to them ?

Ram, I don`t know whether you seen the Movie Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni. It`s an Amazing movie of a father who teaches his son, that Life is infinitely beautiful, even though they are in a Nazi camp during the holocaust. Don`t we have a great lesson to learn there..?

Life is full of sad things, but that alone is not reason enough to hate life.
Dew Drops said…
that makes me think on what i want as an epitaph ??!!!! (cud need one son if things are gonna b like this :))))
Hey...I didn thave internet connection for the past few days and now its back..Sorry for the delay...
It is very true how we relaise the value of a person or thing only when it is gone as the ache is felt most during those times. When someone is alive we take him or her for granted but once he or she is gone we know its a point of no return and we have accolades of things to say about him or her etc...intelligent post Srijit!
srijithunni said…
@Dew drops : :) hee hee.. yeah you could do with a son..

@Scribblez : Yes, scribblez, that was the gist of the post.. But I must admit, I felt more intelligent when replying to all the comments than while writing the post.

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