Some things are beyond us

It’s just a little overwhelming, I tell you... three deaths in a spate of 4 months. Although, I wasn’t really attached to my relatives who passed away, it’s still disconcerting. On my Birthday, on Jan 28^th, my brother was on the way back from a funeral in Calcutta, that of my second paternal Aunt. Granted that she was old and suffering from ailments just like the others that went after her, she actually (physically) missed attending her grandson’s wedding slated to happen three weeks later.

Among us, the first card is sent to Lord Ganesha. Once his emblem is imprinted, the wedding cannot be postponed. And as it so happens, these days, weddings are handed over to the planners. So everything was going on as per plan. Okay, and during this wedding, on the ladies sangeet, just before the ring ceremony, another aunt’s husband, my phupha ji suffered a heart attack in front of us. He was taken to the hospital where he passed away. The death was kept under wraps as the wedding muhurat is sacred and the next day was the wedding. That happened somehow. Everyone got dressed and attended. The body was cremated the next day, as the wedding guests dispersed. The last rites were held at the deceased’s house in another town.

We had gone to Calcutta after a long time to attend this wedding and I had taken a cotton nighty for my ‘nanDhi Amma’ (younger amma, as in, my grandma was ‘amma’). She was happy. I hope she wore it. Her daughter, Rita di asked her to put her hand on me as I knelt down near her bed and give me blessings. She was my ‘taayi ji’, my father’s elder brother’s wife. She passed away three days ago. Today, was the ‘pagRi rasm’ at a Gurudwaara, a prayer- meet.

May the deceased rest in peace. 

My brother is there in Calcutta, as are probably most of our relatives. It is also Vivek’s Birthday today. God bless us all.