Afterlife

This blog is not about the mystical afterlife – near death experience (NDE), journey to heaven or any such thing that we are all always eager to know about! This is inspired by an article about how one is put on a high pedestal posthumously and all the terrible flaws and vices one is panned about in his or her lifetime are all forgotten after one’s death. As they say, epitaph and obituary contain lies and more lies and nothing but lies! The article very deftly captures how the shortcomings of a person suddenly become his strengths once he ceases to exist physically on this earth!

Nasty disposition becomes no nonsense attitude refusing to be taken for granted, overindulgence in food and liquor responsible for person’s heart ailment and liver cirrhosis become epicurean and connoisseur of good things in life and the evilness of scandal mongering becomes the quality of need to connect with society. It’s not all. One’s reservedness becomes choosiness about the company the dead man kept and miserliness becomes rare type of generosity making those rarest occasions very precious. Lastly, he won’t be missed becomes forever present in our hearts!

And though death is a permanent parting of company, this eulogisation is actually true in all sorts of parting. Once while bidding adieu to a colleague who had superannuated, people paid glowing tributes. This person in his farewell address very uncannily mentioned ” I am sure this is a gathering of most brilliant, virtuous and honest people, but I am yet to come across an occasion when the whole set of such distinguished people are all speaking lies at the same time!”

As another view goes, death being synonymous with end of a person, it’s an occasion of great relief and joy for the people to have gotten permanent ridden from a pest! No wonder it entices the best of oratory filled with most fervent passions for it’s said that obituaries are generally the finest speeches!